Landsbygd i vindkraftspolicy - En diskursanalys

Sammanfattning: The Swedish Parliament aims to have one hundred percent renewable energy in 2040. For this goal, further establishment of wind power is considered crucial. There is however a current debate and a potential urban-rural conflict, in the case of wind power. Wind turbines are usually established in sparsely populated areas in Sweden, and even though people are generally positive about wind energy, there are cases where nearby residents oppose wind power being built. International research finds that there is increased polarization between urban and rural, and increased conflicts about wind power. This essay examines perspectives on the rural, in context of the wind energy debate. The aim is to find out whether discourses that originate from an urban norm, or in other ways are derogatory towards the rural, appears in policy documents. Based on three discourses about the rural and Carol Bacchi’s ”What’s the problem represented to be?”-approach to policy analysis, two national policy documents was analysed. The three discourses do not appear clearly in the policies, even though there are tendencies. Through abductive reasoning, two alternative discourses about the rural was identified, one that is derogatory towards the rural and one that is interpreted as including and democratic.