Forest owners and power: A Foucauldian study on Finnish forest policy

Abstract

This study applies a Foucauldian discourse analysis in a study of forest owners' descriptions of power relations in Finnish forest and nature conservation policy, in the context of the recent implementation of cooperative National Forest Programme. Twenty-five forest owners in southern Finland were interviewed using a semi-structured “qualitative attitude approach.” Three discursive strategies were found: (1) “submitting to others' power,” (2) “questioning others' power” and (3) “taking power.” As discursive resources for these strategies, forest owners used two identities, “forestry identity” and “conservation identity,” as well as expressions of justice, in order to create tension or alignment between policy actors. The first two strategies emphasized non-cooperation and non-communication between stakeholders and were dominant in the interviews. As a contrast, the third strategy emphasized cooperation and communication; however, it was used rarely. The results of the study can help policy stakeholders to become aware of the discursive construction of policy processes and the presence of power in all social interaction between policy stakeholders.