European Urban a n d R e g i o n a l Article S t u d i e s

European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4) 433–442 Ideology, environment and forced © The Author(s) 2010 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav relocation: Kiruna – a town on DOI: 10.1177/0969776410369045 the move http://eur.sagepub.com

Bo Nilsson Umeå University, Sweden

Abstract Kiruna, a small town in the north of Sweden, is facing a major change because an expanding mining industry is threatening the town. The iron ore body runs under the central parts of the town and continued mining will cause that area to collapse. Therefore, the municipality of Kiruna (Kiruna kommun) has, under the influence of the mining company LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag), decided to relocate parts of the town a few miles to the north-west. The relocation plans have attracted a great deal of attention in both national and international media. This article examines the ideological bias that characterizes various opinions in relation to the relocation plans, and especially the views of those in favour of the move, the mining company and the majority of the municipality of Kiruna. ‘Ideology’, both as a concept and as a perspective, is used in an analysis of how some specific ‘truths’ regarding the relocation are produced. Furthermore, I argue that the relocation plans are part of an ideological fantasy rooted in the social structure, of which the mining company has historically been a creator. On a more general level, the article deals with democratic processes in the context of an urban transformation.

Keywords democracy, environment, ideology, masculinity, rhetoric, Sweden, urban relocation

Introduction

The small town of Kiruna is located approximately As in many other single-industry communities, 90 miles north of the polar circle in one of the colder almost everyone in the town is dependent in one way areas of Sweden. Kiruna was founded about 100 or another on its main industry (see Dale 2002: 10), years ago and has today (2009) somewhere between and, according to a local saying, Kiruna catches a 18,000 and 19,000 inhabitants. The town is known cold if LKAB sneezes. However, the expansion of for a number of reasons from an international and a the mining industry has now reached a point where Swedish perspective: the midnight sun, the Icehotel the town’s location is a hindrance to further develop- (in Jukkasjärvi), the Sami people, the space science ment. The iron ore body runs under the town and, if centre Esrange and the main industry of iron the mining continues, parts of the town will collapse. ore mining, which is run by LKAB (Luossavaara- Therefore, the municipality of Kiruna (Kiruna kom- Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag) and founded in 1890. The mun), under the influence of LKAB, has decided iron ore mine is the world’s largest underground mine – it contains about 250 miles of roads – and the ore body is 2.5 miles long and 0.05 miles thick and Corresponding author: Bo Nilsson, Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå reaches a depth of 1.25 miles. As of today, approxi- University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden mately one-third of the ore has been extracted. Email: [email protected]

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 434 European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4) that the central parts of the town have to be relocated the way a phenomenon is represented is important a few miles to the north-west. This will mean that for the cultural construction of that phenomenon. vital and symbolic buildings such as the church Representations thus constitute what they represent, (acclaimed as Sweden’s most beautiful building in and are therefore an important object of analysis. 2001) and the City Hall must either be moved or Approaches emphasizing the significance of demolished. ideology and representations are not strongly devel- According to information from the municipal oped in urban and regional studies. Baylina and leadership of Kiruna, approximately 1800 persons, Gunnerud Berg (2010) have, however, analysed how which is around 10 percent of the population, must rurality is represented and ‘produced’ (see also be relocated within the next 30 years, and 960 Halfacree, 1993; Milbourne, 1997). In their investi- apartments will be either lost or rebuilt on other gation of two lifestyle magazines, they show how the sites. More urgently, 450 people (160 apartments) countryside is represented as idyllic. They interpret will need new housing before 2014.1 But these sta- this as directed towards middle-class nuclear fami- tistics seem to be more and more uncertain because lies. Similarly, this article discusses how different rep- cracks in the ground are spreading more rapidly resentations produce truths about Kiruna and the than expected, and they will soon reach the inner planned relocation that favour certain stakeholders, city. People who live close to the mine (e.g. in a and offer certain identities for the residents. street called Bromsgatan) are already moving away from their homes. This article is part of a larger investigation that Perspectives and methods describes and analyses the city of Kiruna – including the planned relocation – as it is (re)presented in dif- In order to gain access to the residents’ view of the ferent narratives, e.g. in political documents, the relocation, I conducted 20 interviews with people media, Kiruna municipality’s information to its from Kiruna between 2006 and 2008. Two of the inhabitants, and interviews with Kiruna residents. inhabitants defined themselves as Sami, an indigen- The narratives are analysed in terms of ideological ous ethnic group in northern Europe, and the rest as and rhetorical strategies. More specifically, the study Swedes. The interview format varied, ranging from examines the conditions in which different stories half-hour phone calls to ‘face to face’ interviews that about Kiruna are (re)produced and their effects – took several hours. All the interviewees were adults what kind of ideological worldview is (re)produced who have not worked professionally with the pro- in the ‘telling’ of Kiruna and what does this world- duction of texts, images or other official materials of view mean in terms of gender, ethnicity and class? the town. According to their occupations, the inter- In this article, then, I analyse how ideology and viewees could be described as either working-class an ideological fantasy are important parts of the or lower-middle-class people. official and public rhetoric concerning the reloca- Public discourses of Kiruna and the relocation tion of Kiruna. I focus on the kind of rhetoric that are accessible in national daily and evening news- supports a move and argues that there are no alter- papers. I have used the online press archives, Press- natives if the town is to survive. I will also pay some text and Mediearkivet,2 and performed searches attention to the effects of a masculine rationale for on a monthly basis during 2006–8. The keyword the relocation plans. ‘Kiruna’ was supplemented alternatively with the The article is connected to a wider research field Swedish words for ‘image’, ‘identity’, ‘urban relo- that concerns the ideological bias of (media) repre- cation’ and ‘move’. Public information produced sentations (e.g. Fairclough, 1988, 1995; Fisk, 1989; and distri-buted by the municipality of Kiruna and Eldridge, 1993; White, 2006). Such an approach is con- the mining company LKAB is also analysed. cerned with the ways in which media and other repre- Kirunatidningen, a local magazine, and the TV pro- sentations convey particular meanings. Because the gramme Vetenskapsmagasinet (Science Magazine) media are powerful (re)producers of cultural values, also play a minor role.

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 Nilsson 435

I have used the concept of ideology to describe this embeddedness by contributing to subjective the ‘images’ produced in the material. Ideology can feelings of jouissance, i.e. pleasure or enjoyment. be seen as systems of beliefs that are widely recog- Ideological fantasy makes it possible to examine nized, but not always conscious. Ideologies always how what is an effect of the interests of one company contain aspects of power and dominance (Eagleton, (the wish to move the town in order to make more 1991: 5), and they ‘function’ through different ideo- money) is made comprehensible as a general necess- logical and rhetorical strategies. ity. This requires the identification of the town as ‘a I make no clear distinction between ideologies mining town’ and of its residents as ‘miners’ (or at and political ideologies. Both work by providing a least as dependent on mining). Ideological fantasy common story, or fantasy, about something, such as conceals the possibility of other identifications and, the way society works, who ‘we’ are and so on. Thus, in the end, of the radical contingency of identity. both establish a common view on identity, the past Ideological power is functioning not only by sat- and the future, and also offer a moral struggle against isfying subjective needs of identity and belonging, (and the simultaneous constitution of) a variety of but also by creating space for oppositional views and ‘enemies’ (see Howarth, 2000; Halliday, 2002). by allowing mistrust (Žižek, 1989) – as long as this In order not to imply the Marxian understanding is expressed within the reach of the ideological fan- that ideologies manipulate people over their heads tasy. According to this perspective, the different (see Paasi, 2001: 20) or distort any sort of truth by views of the relocation plans in Kiruna will be inter- introducing a ‘false consciousness’, and that such a preted as parts of an ideological fantasy incorporat- truth will be revealed once we get rid of ideology, I ing conflicting ideas. take the concept of ideology to comprise the produc­ tion of truth. Ideology makes knowledge and ideas seem natural and obvious (see Grossberg, 1992: 101) Ideological strategies: T o make a and therefore has concrete political effects. The function of ideology is not to conceal the truth but to town relocation a necessity organize and structure the social (Žižek, 1989: 41). The assessment made by the municipality of Kiruna, This post-structuralist understanding of ideology that 10 percent of the population would be affected works from the supposition that ‘truth’ is contin- by the relocation, has been vastly exaggerated by the gent and depends on the context, and it builds on media. Headlines have suggested that the whole the Marxist tradition as it has been developed by, town is on the move, ‘Mining can move the whole among others, Slavoj Žižek and discourse theorists of Kiruna’.3 A Swedish TV programme Vetenskaps­ Glynos and Howarth (2007). They have also devel- magasinet (22 October 2008) began with the words: oped the concept of ideological fantasy to point out ‘We are going to talk about how to move a town.’ how such fantasies constitute a driving force behind Another headline stated that: ‘The ground is literally different practices and motivate people to support a cracking under the feet of the residents.’ ‘The Art of criticized and ideologically biased worldview through Moving a Whole Town’ was a headline in the news- their actions. paper Dagens Industri (20 October 2006), and in the In this article, the effect of an ideology that strongly article it was poetically said that ‘[t]he autumn is supports the moving of Kiruna will be discussed in colouring mountains around Kiruna in bright red and terms of ideological fantasy. The reason for doing so yellow. But this autumn is a very special one. This is is that, first, the concept sheds light on how ideology the year to make big decisions. The whole town must is embedded in the social structure itself (Žižek, move. The only question is where.’ 1989). In the present case, this is best exemplified by The focus of the media coverage in relation to the fact that the mining industry was at the same time the change can in itself be described as an (implicit) a main employer and the most vociferous addresser ideological strategy, because it supports the view of the dominant ideology. Second, it illustrates how that the planned relocation is virtually irreversible. It ideological fantasy plays a crucial part in supporting is difficult, if not impossible, for Kiruna to do anything

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 436 European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4) else than move after such a massive deployment of The ‘new’ town and its characteristics are pre- the idea of a town on the move. sented on the Kiruna municipality’s webpage. Verbal To say that it is necessary – that there are no alter- images of lakes and rivers in close vicinity to build- natives – is another and more obvious strategy that is ings are presented and clean air and water are used in arguments for a relocation. In an information mentioned. That the new town is ‘characterized by pamphlet distributed by the municipality of Kiruna, the combination of buildings and green areas and by it is stated that the move is unavoidable if the town the integration of elderly people and families with wants to survive (Kiruna – en stad i omvandling, children, and tenements and villas’ seems to be an 2007: 19). There is a deterministic tone in the pam- essentialized view. Furthermore, the municipality phlet and there seems to be no reason at all to consider wants to preserve parts of the older historical build- alternatives. This can also be seen as a communication ings and to emphasize that all people, irrespective of of risk – without the relocation Kiruna is at risk of (ethnic) background, will be safe and feel a sense of going under. security. Leisure time, cultural activities, public meet- A further argument that was put forward by the ing places, gender equality, local identity and neigh- municipality of Kiruna and LKAB was that the move bourly contacts are also seen as important.5 included many benefits for the town. The following What is particularly striking about these example was posted on the webpage of the munici- descriptions is their taken-for-granted character. The pality of Kiruna: idea of a good environment, varied housing, safety and an active local community is uncontroversial In the vision for the future Kiruna – a high-tech model (Lundgren, 2005). However, this uncontroversial city, an ecologically appropriate future society – our narrative can have ideological effects because it is town will undergo major changes in the coming years. It unthreatening to describe a future town that is built gives us a unique opportunity to provide Kiruna with a on common and historical legitimate features. It is modern urban design. But even in a future Kiruna, the almost a presentation of an ideal or utopian society: city reminds us how our particular history is always a pre-modern and ‘natural’ small town with people present. Our vision is therefore based on Hjalmar living close together in harmony. There are similarities Lundbohm’s ideas but also includes an openness to with the programme declarations of New Urbanism, future demands, not least in terms of environmental whose urban design ideals advocate a mixed and friendliness, new technologies, energy and sustainability. condensed settlement, green spaces, diversity and The new era is to be met with broad preparedness in the importance of an aesthetic appeal in the vision of physical planning as well as in other planning.4 urban life quality.6 The presentation of distinct statements concern- Here we can see an allusion to the acknowledged ing the democratic character of the process is another founder of Kiruna and LKAB’s first managing strategy in the introduction of the future town. The director, Hjalmar Lundbohm (1855–1926), and his municipality of Kiruna has emphasized that all its ambition to create a modern and well-planned town inhabitants will have the opportunity to influence the (an ideal town). This allusion strategy is relatively relocation process: common in the material and one ideological effect is that the relocation plans get historical support and Consultation meetings, discussions with different groups, therefore also legitimacy. Lundbohm’s ideal town open houses, exhibitions, interactive communication via has been associated with positive values (e.g. social the Internet, and special activities for young people are equality) over a long period of time and by taking some examples of how the politicians will get residents this goodwill for granted one is part of a process in Kiruna involved in the process.7 of selective cognitive monumentalization. A well- established image of an ideal historical society is It is also pointed out that ‘total openness and total (re)constructed and used to create positive ideas accessibility should be guidelines for everything about the future. that concerns the new Kiruna’. This means among

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 Nilsson 437 other things that all the inhabitants will have access Visitors are sometime surprised that the inhabitants to the same factual information as the politicians. don’t seem to be interested in the relocation, but one Young people, and especially young women, are can also interpret this silence as a sign of people feeling considered to be the most important groups to reach safe and accepting the terms that will build the future. in the planning of the future Kiruna. One reason for (Kiruna – en stad i omvandling, 2007: 15) this is that many young women leave Kiruna and move south. Kiruna is culturally and numerically Therefore, according to the municipality of Kiruna, dominated by men. one possible explanation is that people feel safe and The emphasis on the democratic character of the accept the changes. Here one can observe the same process can be described as an ideological strategy ideological view as earlier; only the positive aspects whose effect is to legitimize the relocation plans and of the transformation are spoken about. to hinder future critics. Furthermore, this allusion to In sum, these descriptions produce an image of a democratic process can give the impression that Kiruna’s transformation as necessary and unavoidable, everybody has the possibility to take part in the relo- and as positive and enriching for the future. Any draw- cation plans on (almost) equal terms. However, the backs or problems are given little space in the public democratic process does not seem to involve the discourse. The vision of the future town can therefore question of whether the relocation should take place be interpreted in terms of universalism and particular- or not. ism. It is the interests of some actors, especially the The highlighting of the unique character of the mining company and the municipality of Kiruna, that move is also a strategy that can be found in the are given a ‘universal’ character (see Cohen, 1981). In introduction of the relocation plan. On the Kiruna other words, there are some perspectives and stake- municipality’s webpage one can read: ‘The city’s holders who dominate the public discourses of the transformation has no counterpart. In no other place urban transformation and the future of Kiruna. has such a transformation taken place on such a large The municipality’s positive vision of the reloca- scale’.8 The municipality of Kiruna also points out tion process and the future town is not always con- that the relocation could function as a model for firmed in interviews with residents in Kiruna. Instead, other and similar processes around the world: they react to the relocation plans in different ways. Some of the interviewees said that they did not care, Kiruna will perhaps be a model for other cities in the it was up to the mining company and the municipality world. One can for example imagine that climate of Kiruna to take responsibility for the future of the change and a rising sea level will force cities to move town. Others expressed feelings of disempowerment, to safer places. In that case our experiences in Kiruna and mentioned that it did not matter what they thought can be of great help to people who work with city about the relocation – power was in the hands of the planning. (Kiruna – en stad i omvandling, 2007: 14) politicians and the mining company anyway. One 55-year-old woman said the following: This altruistic strategy can be viewed as a tool in the process of legitimizing the relocation. By stressing It does not matter what we think. There is always the international importance, and pointing out the someone else who has the power to decide. And most idea that others can learn from the experience, Kiruna people one talks to think that the best place for the town municipality makes it more difficult for critics to is near the regiment [the north-east option]. But the question the move. LKAB has of course another opinion, they want to A common view is that the residents in Kiruna are build close to Mount Ädnamvaara [the north-west positive, indifferent or more or less uninterested in option]. . . . It feels a bit strange to move the town there, the relocation. Visiting journalists have been writing it doesn’t feel quite right. about this, and even in an information pamphlet pro- duced by the municipality of Kiruna the inhabitants’ Some were also worried about the future. What is silence is mentioned: going to happen to houses close to the subsidence?

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 438 European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4)

Who is going to compensate house owners for mentions infrastructural issues, e.g. the need for new their losses? roads, water pipes, switchyard and railway. Key A couple mentioned a parallel case, the town of concepts in the municipality’s vision are, for instance, Malmberget, which is located about 75 miles south ‘new technologies’ and ‘energy’ (Kiruna – en stad i of Kiruna. Parts of Malmberget have been forced to omvandling 2007: 10–12). Media reports are charac- relocate owing to an expanding mining industry – terized by similar infrastructural thoughts. The actual which is also owned by LKAB. Many house owners moving of buildings, new routes for water and energy who live close to the big mining pit are disappointed. supplies and new dwellings are placed in the lime- Their properties have dropped dramatically in value light.9 The relocation of the popular and well-known and, according to the interviewees, the mining com- City Hall is associated with three main problems: pany is not willing to compensate them for this. funding, transportation technology and the location However, despite these different opinions, all the of the staff during the move.10 Thus, the physical interviewees said in one way or another that they transformation seems to be most important, and cul- understood the necessity of a relocation. They could tural, social, ethnic and spiritual issues are more or not see any real long-term alternative if the town is less ignored. Even if cultural life, local community to survive. How this can be interpreted as an aspect and equality are discussed in visionary documents, of an ideological fantasy will be discussed later. they are given comparatively little coverage. In the municipality’s town planning documents, a differentiation can be made between hard and soft Technology, rationality and the risks (see Johansson, 2007: 25). Hard risks involve material issues such as houses collapsing, the rail- economy as ideology way being damaged by subsidence in the ground, or The public’s ideas about the transformation are other unexpected infrastructural problems. Examples characterized by technological rationality, which of soft risks are social segregation, resident dissatis- means that other and ‘softer’ issues become more or faction and increasing emigration. Usually, it is the less uninteresting. This is visible in a brochure from hard questions and technical aspects that are consid- the municipality of Kiruna in which the settlements ered to be most important. In a newspaper interview are mentioned: with a vicar, who answered the question of how it feels to move the church, problems of a non-technical Parts of the houses that are being demolished might nature are reflected on: be used as building materials. For example, when the residents of Ullspiran have to move, they may move Yes, but in that case it is only the church as a building to newly built apartments if such apartments exist. that will be moved. What happens with the content, (Kiruna – en stad i omvandling, 2007: 11) all the memories of joy and sadness that exist here, and how do you move a place full of memories? . . . The words ‘might’ and ‘may’ are prominent in the On a physical level, soil blocks can be moved, but text, and perhaps this can be seen as a kind of safe- what is there will probably always stay there, in the guard. The municipality does not want to promise original place.11 anything in advance. However, the brochure also reflects a more important aspect of the relocation However, the information provided by the munici- ideas: the rhetoric is formed through a technological pality on the church’s future mostly deals with ques- and rational approach that focuses on questions of tions concerning how the building can be transported, how the move should be carried out and what it will where it should be located and the cost of transporta- mean in physical terms. tion. Although these are problems that are raised, When the municipality of Kiruna presents how they are problems of a practical nature that can be the transformation will be implemented, it primarily solved with the right technology. Personal experience

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 Nilsson 439 concerning the church and feelings concerning the The context of Kiruna and the demolition and reconstruction of the church at another relocation location seem to be less interesting. The major focus on the central buildings of Concepts such as transformation, development and Kiruna can in itself be seen as an ideological force innovation, and ideas about production, industrializa- – especially as it has this technical character – tion, technological knowledge, demographic upheaval, because it means that other issues are neglected or urban growth and the decreasing importance of issues subordinated. Not only have the central buildings involving tradition, have been associated with mod- become key symbols of the town of Kiruna; they ernism and modern societies (see e.g. Berman, 1983; have also become key symbols of a successful urban Giddens, 1990). Parts of this, not least the need for transformation and the new Kiruna. transformation and a confidence in technological Hard issues are also expressed in terms of econ- rationality, are clearly present in representations of omy, finance and costs. Many newspapers raised the Kiruna’s relocation. It is also possible to place the question of how much the urban transformation foundation and growth of Kiruna in a modern context. would cost and who should pick up the bill: The early town was created as a model society in an industrial context, and could be described as modern SEK 20 billion? Or 30 billion? Nobody knows how in the sense of it being a place of innovation and much it will cost to move the central parts of Kiruna cultural change. and to meet the need for continued mining. No one However, the representations of Kiruna and its knows who should pay.12 planned relocation cannot be associated with mod- ernist rhetoric in every sense. Modern trends such Under a special heading, ‘sensational figures’, the as those that marred the transformation of several municipality of Kiruna presents on its website the Swedish cities in the 1960s – old city centres were costs of various sub-projects associated with the demolished and replaced by new buildings – are transformation. It will, for example, cost between tendencies that are not directly applicable to the SEK 2.5 billion and SEK 3.5 billion to rebuild the contemporary transformation of Kiruna. Those in railway, SEK 200–300 million to fix a new section power in Kiruna have learned the lessons of the of the E10 road, SEK 49 million to organize a new demolition period. The stated desire to preserve wastewater system and SEK 1 million to move buildings and typical characteristics of the town is ‘Bläckhorn’ (Ink Horn) – well-known houses built in an example of this, and further ideas include the the early 1900s and owned by LKAB.13 importance of a clean environment and sustainable Economic issues are, of course, important development. However, there is a modern aspect to because a transformation of this size will cost a great the plans for relocation: the interest in technical and deal of money. But even discussions about economic rational solutions. As noted above, the rhetoric sur- issues have an ideological effect in the sense that rounding urban transformation concentrates upon they ‘hide’ or diminish other aspects. In the same how the move’s technical problems can be solved in way as with technological rationality, the issue of the most rational and cheapest way. The technologi- funding has a tendency to overshadow soft values. cal rationality focuses on calculations, estimates The essence of the transformation seems to be ques- and practical problem-solving, and is closer to a tions concerning the technology involved in the kind of practical knowledge than an intellectual moving of the buildings and how to finance this understanding in itself. move. On a structural level, this is also an example Sven-Eric Liedman divides modernity into a soft of a reductionist approach, i.e. a ‘simplification’ of and a hard version. Hard modernity is about the the conversion process. It seems to be sufficient to management of technical problems, the performance resolve the technical and economic problems to of machinery, estimates, figures and precise rou- make the transformation a success. tines, whereas soft modernity includes, for example,

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 440 European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4) imaginary worlds, existential issues, ethics and norms and stereotypical representations of masculinity (see of conduct (Liedman, 1999; see also Sjöström, 2007: Mellström, 2003: 16–17). 46). With reference to Liedman, Kiruna can in many Wajcman (1991) identifies two types of techno- ways be described in terms of the hard version. logical masculinity. One emphasizes toughness and If this is translated into a regional context, in a knowledge of mechanics, whereas the other is based terms of regional discourses Kiruna seems to be on a professional rationality of technology expertise. somewhere in between a traditional and a more In Kiruna’s official documents, the latter variant is recent approach to the region. The traditional dis- most visible, whereas the former is an important part course is linked to the industrial society, and defines of Kiruna’s masculine culture per se. Many men’s growth in terms of expanding economic, technologi- upbringing, interests and livelihood are associated cal and physical infrastructures. A later and more with machinery and technologies (Hägg, 1993). The holistic approach to the region, with associations mining sector is a key source of income and com- with the knowledge society, emphasizes quality of mon leisure interests are focused on mechanics, such life, creativity and knowledge, and it is open to new as motorcycles, cars and snow scooters. In this con- ideas and new technologies. Additional features of text, masculinity is expressed through the ‘embodied’ the new discourse include issues such as regional ability to handle tools, machinery and equipment solidarity, a way to face competition in international (see Mellström, 2003: 165). markets and regional self-reliance, where a depend- However, on an overall structural level, techno- ence on government assistance is being replaced by logical knowledge in the context of expert systems the region as an active agent creating its own future. and masculinity has a significant influence on the Diversity and a belief in the possibilities of multicul- infrastructure of society. Road construction, commu- turalism are other characteristics. nications and the information society are technologi- The traditional discourse is exclusive because it cal phenomena that are connected with masculinity. relies on key players in the market, and emphasizes In Kiruna’s transformation this is reflected in a con- technological and economic conditions as the basis crete way because the relocation process, mentioned for growth. The latter inclusive discourse empha- above, involves mainly men and a masculine techno- sizes the need for more actors and more diversity, logical logic. The rationality of the relocation is thus and includes new social movements that challenge an instrument of power that favours men and repro- technological rationality (Hudson, 2001). duces masculinity; it confirms traditional masculine In Kiruna, the inclusive tendencies can be seen in interests, and the professional cultures that are imbued an interest in new industries, diversity and inhabit- with status are those usually occupied by men. Even ants’ participation in the process of planning the the ideological legitimization strategies discussed town’s future. However, Kiruna is also formed by earlier can be understood in this way, because traditional ideas of what is usually called a folkhem they satisfy the needs of a traditional masculinity (the welfare state of people’s home of Sweden), (see Nilsson, 1999). The possible consequences and which is defined by a clear interrelation between the implications of this in relation to Kiruna’s transfor- local and the state, and a strong belief in the impor- mation, future and the desirable democratic process tance of one central actor – LKAB. From another is perhaps something that should be discussed in perspective it could perhaps be argued that the more depth. ‘inclusive’ is located on a rhetorical level, whereas the ‘exclusive’ is anchored in practice. Another tendency in Kiruna, interacting with An ideological fantasy the aspects discussed above, is the dominance of a masculine culture. Technological rationality (hard An ‘ideological fantasy’ can be seen as an illusion modernity and an exclusive regional discourse) and that people are conscious of, but that they neverthe- masculinity are, in other words, two interacting phe- less maintain through their actions. This is because nomena in Kiruna and the ideas about urban trans- the ideology is located not only on a conscious level formation. Technologies can be part of both typical but also on a level where it structures social reality

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 Nilsson 441 itself. Therefore, people know that they are following possible alternatives to a relocation, e.g. other a fantasy in their actions, but they do it anyway. The mining systems. Instead, the criticism concerned reason is that the ideology is satisfying subjective the relocation process, not whether relocation was needs (Žižek, 1989). necessary or not. The rhetoric surrounding the relocation of Kiruna All the interviewees’ reactions therefore illustrate is, as shown above, dominated by opinions that a relationship that is characterized by dependence speak of the benefits of the transition. These opin- and subordination. The residents are accustomed to ions apply different rhetorical tricks and ideological putting their trust in the mining company and, if the strategies, which are located on a cognitive (written mine cannot expand and develop, the future of the and verbal) level. However, the relocation rhetoric town is at risk. It is a Catch 22 situation. You cannot can also be described in terms of an ideological fan- criticize the hand that feeds you. LKAB’s arguments tasy rooted in the deeper structures of Kiruna. The (formed through masculine rationality) for an expan- discovery of iron ore and the advent of the mining sion of the mining industry and the subsequent urban company are the main reasons Kiruna exists as a transformation have, of course, economic motives, town, and the mining company has socially and cul- but they also have deep historical support that is turally shaped the whole town. Two prominent and located in a social structure that the company itself interacting characteristics of Kiruna are a small town has created. The ideological fantasy is, in other mentality (bruksmentalitet) and a working-class words, both (re)produced in the representations and masculine culture (a miner culture). The former can ideas surrounding the relocation and rooted in the be described as a tradition in which many residents social practices that a mine-dependent mentality and are accustomed in one way or another to placing masculinity generate. their faith in the dominant company, whose leaders’ historical role has been that of patriarch and father Notes (see Dale, 2002: 14). The mine has also been a men’s place, and the mining industry and society as a whole 1. See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 4 January 2007. are still dominated by men and masculinity. It seems . 2 See http://www.presstext.se/ and http://www.retriever- as if the mine and its technologies represent an info.com/mase.php. ‘accumulated masculinity’ (see Barrett, 1996), a 3. See http://www.unt.se/, 18 January 2007; quotes are symbolic value that is relevant to and highly regarded translated by the author. in society at large. 4. See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 4 January 2007. According to the interviewees, residents in 5. See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 4 January 2007. Kiruna ‘know’ from experience that LKAB has a 6. See http://www.newurbanism.org/newurbanism/prin- great influence over the town’s development and ciples.html. future, and they relate to the mining company’s 7. See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 4 January 2007. actions and plans in different ways: with indiffer- . 8 See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 11 January 2008. ence, a fatalistic attitude, mistrust or feelings of . 9 See, for example, http://www.aftonbladet.se/, 22 powerlessness. All these reactions can be inter- November 2007. preted as parts of the ideological fantasy. This is 10. See http://www.nsd.se, 31 October 2007. There have because they represent established identities and been big plans to build a 49 metre wide road, making satisfy subjective needs by contributing to feelings it possible to move the City Hall in one piece, but it of jouissance. For example, feelings of disempow- seems that the local government is taking a more erment and victimhood in relation to the mining modest stand in 2009 owing to the global economic company’s dominance confirm an identity as crisis. In a local paper it was mentioned that perhaps working class and as a resident in a single-industry only minor parts of the City Hall would be saved mining town. Even reactions of mistrust can be (Törmä, 2009: 4–7). seen as ideological, because there was no one 11. See http://www.nsd.se/, 11 January 2007. among the interviewees who really questioned the 12. See http://www.gp.se/, 20 January 2008. need for an expansion of the mine or mentioned 13. See http://www.kommun.kiruna.se/, 22 February 2008.

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016 442 European Urban and Regional Studies 17(4)

References Howarth D (2000) Discourse. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press. Barrett F (1996) The organizational construction of hege- Hudson C (2001) Regionala partnerskap – ett hot mot eller monic masculinity: The case of the US Navy. Gender, ett förverkligande av demokrati? CERUM Working Work and Organization 3: 129–142. Paper 36:2001, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Umeå Baylina M, Gunnerud Berg N (2010) Selling the coun- universitet. tryside: Representations of rurality in Norway and Johansson H (2007) Samerna och rennäringen i det nya Spain. European Urban and Regional Studies 17(3): Kiruna. Stads- och landskapsplanering LP0410. Institu­ 277–292. tionen för Stad och Land, SLU Ultuna. Berman M (1983) All that is Solid Melts into Air. The Kiruna – en stad i omvandling (2007) Kiruna: Informa­ Experience of Modernity. London: Verso. tionsbroschyr från Kiruna kommun. Cohen A (1981) The Politics of Elite Culture. Explorations Liedman S-E (1999) I skuggan av framtiden. Modernitetens in the Dramaturgy of Power in the Modern African idéhistoria. Stockholm: Bonnier. Society. Berkeley: University of California Press. Lundgren A (2005) Nostalgi och samvete. Reflektioner kring Dale B (2002) An institutionalist approach to local restruc- nostalgi som strategi i berättelser. Kulturella Perspektiv turing: The case of four Norwegian mining towns. 14: 2–13. European Urban and Regional Studies 9: 5–20. Mellström U (2003) Masculinity, Power and Technology. Eagleton T (1991) Ideology. An Introduction. London: Verso. A Malaysian Ethnography. Aldershot: Ashgate. Eldridge J (ed.) (1993) Getting the Message – News, Truth, Milbourne P (ed.) (1997) Revealing Rural ‘Other’. and Power. London: Routledge. Repre ­sentation, Power and Identity in the British Fairclough N (1988) Discourse representation in media Countryside. London: Pinter. discourse. Sociolinguistics 17: 125–139. Nilsson B (1999) Maskulinitet. Representation, ideologi Fairclough N (1995) Media Discourse. London: Edward och retorik. Umeå: Boréa. Arnold. Paasi A (2001) Europe as a social process and discourse: Fisk J (1989) Reading the Popular. London and New Considerations of place, boundaries and identity. York: Routledge. European Urban and Regional Studies 8: 7–28. Giddens A (1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Sjöström L-O (2007) Modernitet i det traditionella. Cambridge: Polity, in association with Blackwell. Kultur ­byggen och gränser inom ett nordsvenskt område. Glynos J, Howarth D (2007) Logics of Critical Explanation Umeå universitet. in Social and Political Theory. London: Routledge. Törmä K (2009) Kommunalråden om bakslag och fram- Grossberg L (1992) We Gotta Get out of this Place. Pop- steg i stadsomvandlingen. Kirunatidningen 18: 4–7. ular Conservatism and Postmodern Culture. London: Wajcman J (1991) Feminism Confronts Technology. Routledge. Cambridge: Polity Press. Hägg K (1993) Kvinnor och män i Kiruna. Om kön och vardag White PRR (2006) Evaluative semantics and ideological i förändring i ett modernt gruvsamhälle 1900–1990. positioning in journalistic discourse. A new framework Sociologiska institutionen, Umeå universitet. for analysis. In: Lassen I, Strunck J, and Vestergard Halfacree K (1993) Locality and social representation. T (eds) Mediating Ideology in Text and Image: Ten Space, discourse and the alternative definitions of the Critical Studies. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John rural. Journal of Rural Studies 9: 23–37. Benjamins Publishing Company. Halliday F (2002) Two Hours that Shook the World. September Žižek S (1989) The Sublime Object of Ideology. London: 11, 2001 – Causes and Consequences. London: Saqi. Verso.

Downloaded from eur.sagepub.com at Stockholm University Library on March 4, 2016