Regulating the New Equine Industry in Finland. Wicked Problems, Governance Models and Gendered Power Structures

Abstract

AbstractThe aim in this article is to highlight the clash between an old regulatory framework; the one associated with the peasant state in Finland and a new rural activity sector, horseback riding, by predominately middle‐class women. The method used in the study was case studies with a mix of interviews, documentary analysis and, to some extent, participatory observation. It was found that the peasant state regulatory framework has been superseded by two competing frameworks: a neoliberal one and a ‘neo top‐down’ one strongly associated with the environmental authorities. However, none of these models can satisfactorily deal with the complex challenges posed by the emerging new equine industry. What is needed is a new kind of participatory governance – co‐management – that especially takes into account gender inequalities and strives towards the empowerment of disadvantaged groups.