Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway
This paper examines how and why the Norwegian government’s early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic became constructed as a centre–periphery issue in public discourse. By analysing opinion pieces and editorials published in a North Norwegian regional newspaper during the first months of the outbreak,...
Published in: | Territory, Politics, Governance |
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2022
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Online Access: | https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 |
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ftulundlup:oai:lup.lub.lu.se:c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 2023-05-15T17:39:22+02:00 Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway Gulbrandsen, Kristin Smette 2022-04-27 https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 eng eng Routledge https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 scopus:85129685065 Territory, Politics, Governance; 10(6), pp 759-778 (2022) ISSN: 2162-2671 Human Geography Centre-periphery conflict Regionalism Covid-19 Critical discourse analysis Peripheralization North Norway contributiontojournal/article info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2022 ftulundlup https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 2023-02-01T23:39:19Z This paper examines how and why the Norwegian government’s early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic became constructed as a centre–periphery issue in public discourse. By analysing opinion pieces and editorials published in a North Norwegian regional newspaper during the first months of the outbreak, it identifies how a ‘northern peripherality’ discourse emerged and highlighted geographical, infrastructural and political peripheralization processes in response to a dispute over the legality and efficacy of local quarantine restrictions. The paper argues that through interdiscursive anchoring in long-standing political cleavages and associated grievances around centralizing reforms, and through co-optation of government narratives, the ‘northern peripherality’ discourse established a position of vulnerability from which to more legitimately problematize responses to the pandemic as a regional concern. The case empirically highlights the spatiality of social conflicts and protest movements, for example discussed in the emerging literature on geographies of Covid-19. Theoretically, the paper engages with the question of how events such as the pandemic become ‘meaningfully regional’ through processes of (regional) spatialization. It suggests, in conceptual terms, that approaching regions and the regional through horizontal and vertical relations moves past one-dimensional readings of regionalist contestation, emphasizes power-laden relations within and across regions, and avoids replicating a territorial/relational binary. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Norway Lund University Publications (LUP) Norway Territory, Politics, Governance 1 20 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Lund University Publications (LUP) |
op_collection_id |
ftulundlup |
language |
English |
topic |
Human Geography Centre-periphery conflict Regionalism Covid-19 Critical discourse analysis Peripheralization North Norway |
spellingShingle |
Human Geography Centre-periphery conflict Regionalism Covid-19 Critical discourse analysis Peripheralization North Norway Gulbrandsen, Kristin Smette Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
topic_facet |
Human Geography Centre-periphery conflict Regionalism Covid-19 Critical discourse analysis Peripheralization North Norway |
description |
This paper examines how and why the Norwegian government’s early handling of the Covid-19 pandemic became constructed as a centre–periphery issue in public discourse. By analysing opinion pieces and editorials published in a North Norwegian regional newspaper during the first months of the outbreak, it identifies how a ‘northern peripherality’ discourse emerged and highlighted geographical, infrastructural and political peripheralization processes in response to a dispute over the legality and efficacy of local quarantine restrictions. The paper argues that through interdiscursive anchoring in long-standing political cleavages and associated grievances around centralizing reforms, and through co-optation of government narratives, the ‘northern peripherality’ discourse established a position of vulnerability from which to more legitimately problematize responses to the pandemic as a regional concern. The case empirically highlights the spatiality of social conflicts and protest movements, for example discussed in the emerging literature on geographies of Covid-19. Theoretically, the paper engages with the question of how events such as the pandemic become ‘meaningfully regional’ through processes of (regional) spatialization. It suggests, in conceptual terms, that approaching regions and the regional through horizontal and vertical relations moves past one-dimensional readings of regionalist contestation, emphasizes power-laden relations within and across regions, and avoids replicating a territorial/relational binary. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gulbrandsen, Kristin Smette |
author_facet |
Gulbrandsen, Kristin Smette |
author_sort |
Gulbrandsen, Kristin Smette |
title |
Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
title_short |
Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
title_full |
Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
title_fullStr |
Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
title_full_unstemmed |
Centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of Covid-19 discourse in Norway |
title_sort |
centre–periphery contestation and the spatialization of covid-19 discourse in norway |
publisher |
Routledge |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
North Norway |
genre_facet |
North Norway |
op_source |
Territory, Politics, Governance; 10(6), pp 759-778 (2022) ISSN: 2162-2671 |
op_relation |
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/c9e700e4-5f0f-47d0-8b06-d484e01cd963 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 scopus:85129685065 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2062440 |
container_title |
Territory, Politics, Governance |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
20 |
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1766140134084837376 |