Repeat frontiers of imperial hope : The ebb and flow of frontier-making in the North Sea and Northern Sweden
de Leeuw, Georgia LU
and Müller, Anders Riel
(2026)
In The Extractive Industries and Society
27.
- Abstract
- A key aspect of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism is frontier-making. Frontiers are essential for ambitions of appropriation and extraction. This paper explores the discursive practices of frontier-making in Scandinavia including the conceptualization of parts of this region as empty space and ripe for exploitation, as wild, unruly and in need of domestication. These regions have historically functioned as spaces for pioneering operations, narrated as avenues of hope for development. Existing literature conceptualizes such spaces as permanent or reconfigured frontiers. We suggest that in the era of green industrial expansion the frontier qualities of such regions are rearticulated to facilitate a “repeat frontier” through hope... (More)
- A key aspect of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism is frontier-making. Frontiers are essential for ambitions of appropriation and extraction. This paper explores the discursive practices of frontier-making in Scandinavia including the conceptualization of parts of this region as empty space and ripe for exploitation, as wild, unruly and in need of domestication. These regions have historically functioned as spaces for pioneering operations, narrated as avenues of hope for development. Existing literature conceptualizes such spaces as permanent or reconfigured frontiers. We suggest that in the era of green industrial expansion the frontier qualities of such regions are rearticulated to facilitate a “repeat frontier” through hope attached to imperial and colonial pasts. The article presents two cases of frontier-making in the context of the green transition: The region of Stavanger in South-Western Norway and the Sami lands in the Swedish North. Through these two cases we highlight the ebb and flow of frontier-making in sacrificed spaces of extraction. The paper conceptualizes frontier-making as occurring in multiple stages that on one hand build on earlier frontier-making processes, but also for every stage rethink and conceptualize the frontier properties of South-Western Norway and Northern Sweden. We pay particular attention to the affective dimensions, more specifically to the role of hope in frontier-making activities, not least when it comes to local hope for development, wellbeing and profit that is mobilized for the legitimacy of extractive advances. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/bfbc2338-4691-4877-bbe0-10df31b1a6b7
- author
- de Leeuw, Georgia
LU
and Müller, Anders Riel
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- frontier, hope, emotions, North Sea, Northern Sweden, Sápmi, Colonial continuity, affect, imperialism
- in
- The Extractive Industries and Society
- volume
- 27
- article number
- 101939
- pages
- 8 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 2214-790X
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.exis.2026.101939
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bfbc2338-4691-4877-bbe0-10df31b1a6b7
- date added to LUP
- 2026-05-06 12:37:24
- date last changed
- 2026-05-25 14:15:40
@article{bfbc2338-4691-4877-bbe0-10df31b1a6b7,
abstract = {{A key aspect of imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism is frontier-making. Frontiers are essential for ambitions of appropriation and extraction. This paper explores the discursive practices of frontier-making in Scandinavia including the conceptualization of parts of this region as empty space and ripe for exploitation, as wild, unruly and in need of domestication. These regions have historically functioned as spaces for pioneering operations, narrated as avenues of hope for development. Existing literature conceptualizes such spaces as permanent or reconfigured frontiers. We suggest that in the era of green industrial expansion the frontier qualities of such regions are rearticulated to facilitate a “repeat frontier” through hope attached to imperial and colonial pasts. The article presents two cases of frontier-making in the context of the green transition: The region of Stavanger in South-Western Norway and the Sami lands in the Swedish North. Through these two cases we highlight the ebb and flow of frontier-making in sacrificed spaces of extraction. The paper conceptualizes frontier-making as occurring in multiple stages that on one hand build on earlier frontier-making processes, but also for every stage rethink and conceptualize the frontier properties of South-Western Norway and Northern Sweden. We pay particular attention to the affective dimensions, more specifically to the role of hope in frontier-making activities, not least when it comes to local hope for development, wellbeing and profit that is mobilized for the legitimacy of extractive advances.}},
author = {{de Leeuw, Georgia and Müller, Anders Riel}},
issn = {{2214-790X}},
keywords = {{frontier; hope; emotions; North Sea; Northern Sweden; Sápmi; Colonial continuity; affect; imperialism}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{The Extractive Industries and Society}},
title = {{Repeat frontiers of imperial hope : The ebb and flow of frontier-making in the North Sea and Northern Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2026.101939}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.exis.2026.101939}},
volume = {{27}},
year = {{2026}},
}