NEOLIBERAL GOVERNANCE, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN THE BARENTS REGION MONICA TENNBERG, JOONAS VOLA, AILEEN A. ESPIRITU, BJARGE SCHWENKE FORS, THOMAS EJDEMO, LARISSA RIABOVA, ELENA KORCHAK, ELENA TONKOVA AND TATIANA NOSOVA | Pages 41-72
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Neoliberal governance, sustainable development and local communities in the Barents Region MONICA TENNBERG Research professor, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland JOONAS VOLA Researcher, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland AILEEN A. ESPIRITU Director, Barents Institute, University of Tromsø BJARGE SCHWENKE FORS Researcher, Barents Institute, University of Tromsø THOMAS EJDEMO Researcher, Department of Business Administration, Technology and Social Sciences, Luleå University of Technology LARISSA RIABOVA Head of department, Luzin Institute of Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre, RAS ELENA KORCHAK Researcher, Luzin Institute of Economic Studies, Kola Science Centre, RAS ELENA TONKOVA Director, Institute of Social Technologies, Syktyvkar State University TATIANA NOSOVA Researcher, Institute of Social Technologies, Syktyvkar State University
Abstract There are currently high hopes in the Barents Region for economic growth, higher employment and improved well-being, encouraged by developments in the energy industry, tourism and mining. The article discusses these prospects from the perspective of local communities in five locations in the region, which spans the northernmost counties of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Northwest Russia. The communities studied are remote, relatively small, multicultural, and dependent on natural resources. The salient dynamic illuminated in the research is how ideas of sustainability and neoliberal governance meet in community development. While the two governmentalities often conflict, they sometimes also complement one another, posing a paradox that raises concerns over the social aspect of sustainable development in particular. The article is based on international, multidisciplinary research drawing on interviews as well as