Framing Decisions: Port Development through Story Lines in Rønne, Denmark.
Author
Bryanne, Victoria Zank
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2022
Submitted on
2022-06-03
Pages
88
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan beslutningen om at udvide Rønne Havn på Bornholm blev til. Analysen bruger en socialkonstruktivistisk tilgang inspireret af Michel Foucaults idéer om relationel magt og handlemuligheder samt Maarten Hajers begreber om fortællinger (storylines), diskursive koalitioner, institutionalisering og diskursiv hegemoni. I praksis betyder det, at specialet følger de fortællinger, der gjorde udvidelsen meningsfuld for beslutningstagere, og ser på, hvem der sluttede op om dem. Undersøgelsen identificerer tre centrale fortællinger: offshore vind, krydstogtturisme og jobskabelse. Ifølge analysen opnåede havnen diskursiv dominans ved at opbygge tætte alliancer i både kommunale og nationale planmyndigheder og ved målrettet at brande sig som en ansvarlig samarbejdspartner med en strategisk placering midt i Østersøen og med nøgleservices. Denne position har bidraget til at tiltrække offshore-vindkontrakter til Bornholm og til at placere øen som frontløber i den grønne omstilling. Samtidig viser specialet, at den neoliberale rammesætning af fortællingerne har konsekvenser for demokratiet: lokale interessenter bliver sat på sidelinjen, og offentlige myndigheder reduceres til at facilitere en på forhånd defineret udvikling uden reel mulighed for at udfordre planerne. Endelig problematiseres privatiseringen af afkast, der udspringer af fælles goder. Forfatteren vurderer, at resultaterne giver praktisk anvendelig indsigt (phronesis) til debatten om havneudvikling og neoliberal dominans i planlægning.
This thesis examines how the decision to expand the Port of Rønne on Bornholm was made. It uses a social constructivist approach informed by Michel Foucault’s ideas about relational power and agency and by Maarten Hajer’s concepts of storylines, discourse coalitions, institutionalisation, and discursive hegemony. In plain terms, the study traces the narratives that made the expansion seem sensible to decision-makers and looks at which actors rallied around them. The analysis identifies three main storylines: offshore wind, cruise tourism, and job creation. The port attained discursive dominance by building strong alliances inside municipal and national planning authorities and by sustained branding as a responsible partner with a strategic location in the middle of the Baltic Sea and key service capabilities. This position helped attract offshore wind contracts to Bornholm and placed the island at the forefront of the green transition. At the same time, the thesis argues that the neoliberal framing of these narratives has consequences for democracy: local stakeholders are sidelined, and public institutions are reduced to facilitators of a pre-framed development with little room to challenge the plans. The study also questions the privatization of returns that arise from common property. The author contends that the findings offer phronetic, practically useful insights for debates on port development and the influence of neoliberal ideas in planning.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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