Port development is in this thesis project analysed via a social constructivist lens built on Faucoult’s relational power and agency. In particular, Hajer’s concepts of story lines, discourse coalitions, institutionalisation and discursive hegemony are employed to create a data-dense case study of the decision-making process leading up to the port expansion of Rønne Port, Bornholm in Denmark. The main story lines were found to evolve around offshore wind, cruise ships tourism and job creation. The analysis showed how the port achieved discursive hegemony and was able to control the further development by creating discourse coalitions deep inside municipal and national planning authorities. This was achieved by a strategic and dedicated branding of the port as a responsible partner being able to offer key services while being situated strategically in the middle of the Baltic Sea. This hegemony has led to an impressive success in attracting offshore wind contracts to Bornholm and being at the forefront of the green transition. However, the neoliberal framing of the story lines has drastic consequences for the democratic decision-making process, sidestepping local stakeholders and reducing governmental institutions to merely facilitating the framed development without any agency to challenge the plans. Further, the privatisation of capital accruing from common property is questioned in this study.
The author believes the findings will add phronetic value to the topics of port development and the neoliberal dominance within planning.