Öresundsidentitet - En studie om regional identitet och identitetsskapande i en transnationell kontext

Sammanfattning: The Öresund region, or Greater Copenhagen as it also is represented as, is a cross-border region connecting Skåne with Copenhagen. Political initiatives have forced development towards a more integrated region with one regional identity. This has been complicated by border controls, redefining the national borders in an inconvenient way, especially for everyday transnational commuters. Through semi-structured interviews with Danish and Swedish residents, the aim of this thesis is to explore how the Öresund identity is expressed, explained and negotiated by people living in the region. Further, this explorative study will attempt to answer how Greater Copenhagen, as the governing body, and media creates narratives about the transnational residents in Öresund. The material is analyzed through a theoretical framework concerning globalization, boundaries and different forms of identity. Regional identity is according to the material a very diverse phenomenon that is highly dependent on individual experience. Therefore, a uniform identity is difficult to successfully apply from above. Even so, the media is using stereotypes and history to create narratives about the Öresund cross-border community. The study also conclude that regional identity in the Öresund area has mainly been built up through resistance. In this case against Stockholm as a national center of power neglecting peripheral parts of land and introducing the border controls. Identity in Öresund region is also defined and maintained through prominent differences in mentality and language. The material shows that identity is an elastic and dialogical process that is constantly redefined. Especially in cosmopolitical places like Öresund where people are often in contact with new social contexts. Globalization has emphasized the importance of cities in the global arena. Because of this competitive discourse, Greater Copenhagen is using the Danish capital and life style buzz words to attract the creative class, at the same time denying “the others”.