Stuck in Traffic?: Discursive positions and institutional barriers in the debate on a national mobility strategy in Denmark

Abstract

Dette projekt undersøger forskningsspørgsmålet: Hvordan former centrale interessenters forskellige diskursive positioner debatten om national mobilitetsplanlægning i Danmark? På trods af bred opbakning blandt interessenter til en national mobilitetsstrategi, er en sådan strategi endnu ikke blevet implementeret. Dette speciale undersøger hvorfor, ved at analysere det diskursive landskab omkring dansk transportplanlægning. Gennem en kritisk diskursanalyse, der bygger på Faircloughs model og Hajers diskursbegreber, undersøger projektet sproget og positionerne hos centrale aktører på tværs af dokumenter, interviews og den offentlige debat. Analysen viser, hvordan interessenter konstruerer storylines, der enten udfordrer eller forstærker status quo, og hvordan disse samler sig i diskurskoalitioner med konkurrerende forståelser af mobilitet. Mens nogle aktører fremmer transformerende forandring, søger andre at modernisere eksisterende paradigmer. Resultaterne viser, at magt ikke kun udøves gennem institutioner, men også diskursivt, ved at definere problemer, forme legitimitet og afgrænse, hvad der er politisk muligt. Dermed undersøger projektet, hvordan institutionaliserede diskurser og modstridende forståelser udgør barrierer for radikal forandring og forklarer det fortsatte fravær af en national mobilitetsstrategi i Danmark.

This project explores the research question: How do distinct discursive positions among central stakeholders shape the debate of national mobility planning in Denmark? Despite broad stakeholder support for a national mobility strategy, no such strategy has been implemented. This thesis investigates why, by analysing the discursive landscape surrounding Danish transport planning. Through a critical discourse analysis that draws on Fairclough’s model and Hajer’s discourse concepts, the project examines the language and positions of central stakeholders across documents, interviews, and public debate. The analysis reveals how stakeholders construct storylines that reinforce or challenge the status quo, forming discourse-coalitions with competing understandings of mobility. While some promote transformative change, others seek to modernise existing paradigms. The fi ndings reveal that power is exercised not only through institutions, but also discursively, by defi ning problems, shaping legitimacy, and limiting what is politically feasible. In doing so, the project uncovers how institutionalised discourses and confl icting framings are barriers to radical change, explaining the continued absence of a national mobility strategy in Denmark.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Stuck in Traffic?: Discursive positions and institutional barriers in the debate on a national mobility strategy in Denmark

[Sidder du fast i trafikken?: Diskursive positioner og institutionelle barrierer i debatten om en national mobilitetsstrategi i Danmark]