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An argument within the wider theory of postpolitics that has gained traction over the last decade is that environmental concerns in general, and climate policy in particular, are especially conducive to depoliticization. In this paper, we take issue with this notion by presenting an empirical case study of the repoliticization of Swedish mining and then, on the basis of this analysis, offer theoretical reflections on how to better understand depoliticization and repoliticization of the environment. We argue for the use of a narrow definition of 'depoliticization', and that sufficient attention must be paid to temporal and scalar differentiation of continuous processes of de- and repoliticization, and that normative assumptions of what constitutes the genuinely political should be abandoned. We argue that environmental concerns harbour large potential for effective politicization, and that this politicization occurs as a response to depoliticization, through concurrent, cross-fertilizing and intertwined processes of repoliticization across scales both inside and outside of formal channels of government, whereby previously depoliticized state agencies may become crucial.

This paper investigates a greenfield mining project in a peripheral region in northern Sweden through the analysis of how different actor groups formed their own ‘horizons of expectations’ that temporally became fused, only to crumble together with the mining company in a short period of time. By focusing on the co-evolvement of expectations, we show how expectations are differentiated along geographical and temporal scales, reflect upon how these differences relate to interests and historical memory, and finally what these differences mean for the development of large-scale, long-term, raw materials-based projects devoted to industrial production in depopulating areas in an economy otherwise orientated towards neoliberal governance and post-industrial development. By doing so, we make a theoretical contribution to the literature on expectations through the introduction of the concept ‘horizon of expectations’, and a contribution to the literature on neoliberalism and its cultural-geographical implications., Vetenskapsrådet: Den svenska gruvpolitikens omvandling - Aktörer, möjliga världar och kontroverser

Under 2000-talet har svensk gruvpolitik tagit plats som en av de mest omdebatterade och omstridda inhemska miljöfrågorna. Den har engagerat människor över hela landet och över institutionella gränser, från lokala aktionsgrupper, genom nybildade protestnätverk till statliga myndigheter och riksdagen. Kanske inte trots utan just på grund av gruvindustrins långa historia i Sverige har den visat sig kunna alstra politiska energier gällande frågor som i allra högsta grad har relevans för dagens och morgondagens samhälle. Det är frågor som gäller vårt samhälles relation till naturen, statens relation till samhället, och minoritetsgruppers och enskildas rättigheter i relation till staten. Denna bok belyser genom fallstudier ett antal av de skärningspunkter där den statliga regleringen, den globala finans- och mineralmarknaden, samt lokala intressen, praktiker, förväntningar och farhågor har mötts och satt sin prägel på den svenska gruvpolitiken under 2000-talet. Tillsammans kan studierna läsas som ett vittnesmål om förnyade krav på statligt ansvarstagande för miljö, regional utveckling och ursprungsbefolkningsrättigheter i den långt drivna avregleringspolitikens tid.

In this paper, we analyse the critique that has accompanied sustained efforts made in recent years by the Government of Sweden to facilitate global investment in the country's mining sector. The minerals market in the 21st century has been characterized by increasing global prices. In Sweden, the largest mining nation within the EU, this has led to what has been identified as a mining boom. The governmental mining policy, aimed at attracting an increasing part of the global venture capital seeking to profit from the volatile but lucrative minerals market, has been met with growing domestic resistance, fuelled by what has been perceived as dangers and side effects of a rapidly expanding Swedish mining industry. This resistance has largely focused on the mineral strategy launched by the government in 2013, as it crystallized the neoliberal ideas judged by critics to severely jeopardize social, cultural, economic and environmental values. After a critical analysis of the mineral strategy, we go on to analyse the mining-critical discourse, concluding with a discussion where we highlight the main implications of the analysis and identify a possible path for compromise between proponents and opponents of the mineral strategy., The transformation of the Swedish mining politics - Actors, possible worlds and controversies

Historically, every form of large scale power production in Sweden has given rise to organised, sustained and partly successful resistance motivated by environmental arguments. Since wind power is identified by the Swedish Parliament as an important energy source for the future and the wind power industry is expected to expand on a large scale, there is reason to believe that the already existing environmental opposition to wind power will continue to grow and will attempt to limit or at least partly obstruct the wind power expansion. In order to facilitate an understanding of this opposition and its possibility to significantly influence future wind power expansion in Sweden, this paper draws upon previous research on the opposition towards hydropower, nuclear power and biomass in Sweden, and discusses these findings in relation to previous research on wind power opposition.

As initiatives are taken in Sweden to evaluate the geological potential for carbon dioxide storage in the adjacent Baltic Sea, experiences from elsewhere may provide lessons about perceptions of and potential opposition toward carbon capture and storage (CCS). A comprehensive analysis of storage feasibility needs to include the issue of social acceptance. The knowledge of CCS is low in Sweden however and there are no Swedish CCS projects to learn from. This paper therefore draws on lessons from other large-scale energy projects that are embedded in similar Baltic Sea contexts to complement lessons on CCS acceptance provided in the literature. The aim of this study is to facilitate an understanding of acceptance of potential future CO2 storage initiatives in the Swedish Baltic Sea region and to analyze what contextual factors are likely to be determinative of the outcome of these and similar projects. The study identifies climate change as one such key contextual factor, which can often be used both to support and oppose a large-scale energy project. Furthermore, the study finds that there are perceptions of uncertainties regarding the regulatory framework that need to be ad-ressed in order to facilitate the planning of CCS projects in the region., Funding agencies: Foundation for IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute; Swedish Energy Agency; Elforsk; Global CCS Institute; SSAB; Jernkontoret; Swedish Petroleum Exploration; Cementa; Nordkalk; SMA Mineral; Minfo; Vattenfall; Fortum; Preem, BASTOR2

This article contributes to what we hope will become a vigorous debate on Internet surveillance and privacy issues, ensuring that privacy issues will not be neglected in the future when political propositions on state surveillance are made. The relevant question to ask is not how to protect privacy at all costs, but how a balance can be found between the need of the state to know about its citizens and those same citizens’ need for privacy from state intrusion. This paper explores the future role of the library pertaining to the issue of state sur veillance. After a short introduction, we present the procedure and theoretical background for the article. The latter is grounded on Foucault’s theory on discourse, power and the modern state. We then discuss our two main fi ndings, and fi nally we relate those fi ndings to the library and its future roles, and to library and information science research and teaching. We fi nd one of these roles to be as instigator of and facilitator and forum for a healthy debate on surveillance and privacy issues.

This paper attempts to survey the debate in the Swedish parliament on state surveillance on the Internet, from 1994 to March, 2007. With a discourse analysis inspired by Foucault, we follow how the idea of state surveillance is viewed by politicians during the period. By focusing on the Internet, we expect to find how politicians in the parliament regard the idea of an unregulated forum for citizen communication and interaction, and how the need for state surveillance on the new arena that is Internet, is expressed and argued for. Theoretical framework is given by Foucault’s theory of the Panoptic state, as well as his thoughts on discourse, power and governmentality. Foucault also supplies the methodological tools for the analysis. In attempting to find out how the political discourse on state surveillance on the Internet has been constituted, we examine what relationship between state and citizens is constituted in the discourse, how politicians argue for or against increased state surveillance, and how the possibility of applying new technology in state surveillance is viewed. The results of the analysis show a rationality for power of state control, resulting in attempts to increase the scope of state surveillance on the Internet. There is no questioning of the basic power rationale, that constitutes a need for state surveillance and control, but there is constant resistance to the attempts to increase state surveillance. We also find the discourse to be an area with a limited number of standpoints, and an ability of the political parties to make sudden switches from one position to another, radically different one, within the discourse., Uppsatsnivå: D