Frame analysis, place perceptions and the politics of natural resource management

• Main Author: Beland Lindahl, Karin
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Jokkmokk
• Online Access: https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/1810/; https://pub.epsilon.slu.se/1810/1/Karins_Acta_Thesis_080829_slutversion.pdf

This thesis is an exploration into the politics of natural resource management. An objective is to integrate concerns for "place" in theory guiding management and resource politics. Conflicting perceptions of place appear to play a role in the making of resource management policy. So do multiple understandings of the meaning of policy and policy events. Consequently, another aim of this thesis is to make sense of actors' multiple understandings of places and policy. The empirical focus is on one forest related Government Commission and its expressions in the community of Jokkmokk in the North of Sweden. Many communities in the North owe their shape, character and identity to natural resource exploitation. They are often localised in landscapes which are recognised for high nature conservation values and conflicts over natural resource use are common. Such conditions are not unique to Sweden. By applying a neo-Durkheimian approach to frame analysis this thesis explores the role of place perceptions in politics of natural resource management. Drawing on theories of social spatialisation, actors' place related frames are identified. Questions of influence and power are investigated by using actors' place related frames as a point of departure for an interpretive policy analysis. The study demonstrates how a systematic analysis of place related frames helps explain important aspects of the policy making process. It shows how fundamentally conflicting place meanings divide the actors, their frames and Interpretive Communities. However, the study also shows that place perceptions do not always explain actors' political activities. Sometimes actors' social organisation and loyalties are more important. This thesis therefore offers a sociologically based approach to conceptualising place perceptions and their role in the politics of natural resource management. It accordingly shows how neo-Durkheimian theory may be applied in natural resource management contexts. Moreover, the thesis demonstrates how questions of natural resource management and rural development are interlinked – through place. The analytical approach enables an in depth understanding of the nature of policy making and intractable policy controversies. In the case of the Government Commission under study, it revealed a lack of local participation, disregard of local perspectives and, thus, insufficient legitimacy. As such,it may also contribute to efforts to manage conflicts as well as to develop more equitable and democratic governance systems.