Logics of rurality: Political rhetoric about the Swedish North: Fid-Bau Portal

Logics of rurality: Political rhetoric about the Swedish North

Nilsson, Bo / Lundgren, Anna Sofia

Abstract A recurring question in regional and national politics in Sweden is how Norrland – a sparsely populated and partly declining region in the north of the country – will be able to survive in the long run. The answer to this question varies between different political parties. With Swedish parliamentary material (non-government bills) as the point of departure this paper examines how the region of Norrland is used and created in political rhetoric. Four discourses were identified that all tried to fixate Norrland in different ways. The paper argues that pro-Norrland arguments may be counterproductive on a discursive level due to how they are organised. By identifying two dominant logics that traversed the different discourses and affected the processes of meaning making, we describe how pro-Norrland arguments that differ ideologically and/or employ different discourses reproduced a common view of Norrland as an inherently rural, remote and problematic area.

Highlights • We examine how the Swedish Norrland is created in political rhetoric. • Discourses of ‘problem’, ‘resource’, ‘growth’ and ‘victimhood’ dominated. • Pro-rural policies were found to reproduce a stereotypical image of Norrland.