Saving or destroying the local community? Conflicting spatial storylines in the Greenlandic debate on uranium

Bjørst, Lill Rastad

doi:10.1016/j.exis.2015.11.006

Cited by 31 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Economic vulnerability, the necessity of economic diversification, and abundance of natural resources leads to great expectations that extraction of natural resources will provide economic prosperity to the society (Bjørst, 2016;Tiainen, 2016). Unfortunately, falling commodity prices reduce the business case for establishing mines in Greenland and do not attract investments in any mining activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"The industry that can really make a difference and create an economic base and liberate Greenland's dependence on the two sectors (fishery and block grant) is natural resources" (key informant 2 Gov GL). The extractive industry is stated from the political system and the business community as a pillar that can and should be developed in order to boost the economy (Bjørst, 2016;Government of Greenland, 2014;Tiainen;. "… it (mining industry) will contribute to the society by generating jobs, turnover, tax revenue, and that way it will generate growth for companies and the society as a whole" (key informant 2 ACRM, DI).…”

Section: Expectationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transitioning from an economic cluster to a collaborative community: mining projects in Greenland

Kadenic

2017

J Org Design

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This paper analyzes the Greenlandic business community and the recently established cluster relevant to extractive industries in Greenland, Arctic Cluster of Raw Materials (ACRM), to enhance local business development in mining projects in Greenland. The analysis directs toward a transition from an economic cluster to a collaborative community in order to increase business potential and to overcome limitations of smallness and inadequate competencies of the Greenlandic business community in the mining industry. Transitioning into a collaborative community creates more value by enabling member firms to realize business development that each single firm could not achieve with its own efforts by being a part of a cluster. Managing the transition process emphasizes the facilitating role for the reason that a shared service provider is required in every collaborative community. I develop a conceptual model for the transition from an economic cluster to a collaborative community based on the architectural elements of the collaborative community design. The conceptual model considers the five proximity dimensions that influence inter-firm linkages both as enablers and barriers to the transition process and collaboration. Collaboration represents a new approach to business and industrial development in remote regions of the Arctic, as challenges evident for Greenland can be found throughout the entire Arctic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Expectationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transitioning from an economic cluster to a collaborative community: mining projects in Greenland

Kadenic

2017

J Org Design

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“…On the other hand, Bjørst warns that the main narrative that emerged during the public debates regarding the exploitation of uranium is shaped by simplistic expectations regarding the development of non-living resources, which he terms "one promising boom and the other doom" (Bjørst, 2016). This narrative carries the potential to impose a simple linear explanation of the development process, in which the exploitation of non-living resources is equated with employment and jobs, which is then further equated with sustainable economy and political independence, and thereby limit the exploration of other avenues for the development of Greenland (Rasmussen & Gjertsen, 2018, p. 137).…”

Section: Takahashimentioning

confidence: 99%

The contours of the development of non-living resources in Greenland

Takahashi

2020

Polar Record

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In past discussions regarding development (of non-living resources) and indigenous people, a strong tendency existed to understand the act of development as a one-way impact from an outside society. This was often labelled as “environmental racism” and interpreted as a form of ethnic discrimination deeply intertwined with environmental issues. However, this view contained an element of confirmation bias regarding development and indigenous people. For example, it has been reported that in Alaska and elsewhere, indigenous people have taken initiative in developing non-living resources, making it clear that indigenous people are not necessarily passive subjects on whom development is unilaterally imposed. In this paper, after examining recent trends in the development of non-living resources, I shall take up the development of such resources in Greenland with the goal of sorting out and extrapolating the main arguments in the debate, especially within the self-rule government, regarding how the wealth obtained through the development of non-living resources should be enjoyed, while focusing on the notion of sustainable development and taking into consideration previous studies from the field of political science.

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“…However, some of the mining projects are still on the drawing board, including Kuannersuit at Narsaq in South Greenland, which is claimed to be the world's second-largest deposit of rare-earth oxides and the sixth-largest deposit of uranium. Anthropologists are reporting great uncertainty among the population of Narsaq about the consequences of an open-pit uranium mine located just above the town (Bjørst, 2016).…”

Section: Broken Hopes and Possible Reorientationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The literature on mining in Greenland is extensive, including studies on environmental and social impacts, as well as broader introductions to the political debate (see e.g. Bjørst, 2016Bjørst, , 2017Nutall, 2017;Sejersen, 2015). My intention is to contribute to this research by drawing attention to how a particular relationship between economy and emotions founded in colonial times lives on in the present and shapes ideas of the future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotions, finances and independence. Uranium as a “happy object” in the Greenlandic debate on secession from Denmark

Thisted

2019

Polar Record

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Analysing the Danish-Greenlandic debate on Greenland’s plans to extract and export uranium, the article advocates bringing the fields of extraction studies and cultural studies into dialogue. Drawing on discourse analysis, critical theory and the “emotional turn” in social sciences, the article demonstrates how the current discussion about secession is linked to a Danish-Greenlandic affective economy instituted during the colonial era. Conceived as the antithesis to the unhappy condition of present postcoloniality, independence has become the ultimate political goal for the Greenlandic nation. The reasoning is that history has made the Greenlanders citizens in a foreign nation, which has left them in a state of alienation. In order to lock colonialism away firmly in the past and attain future happiness, the Greenlanders must attain statehood. Uranium is supposed to promote this goal and is thus circulated as a “happy object”, positioning opponents of uranium mining as “affect aliens” or “killjoys” in the independence discourse. In Denmark, the Greenlandic detachment has led to “postcolonial melancholia” – and to a greater receptiveness to the Greenland desire for equality. In Greenland, disappointed expectations of rapid economic progress and growing distrust of large-scale projects have sparked a discussion about the significations of the concept of “independence”.

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Saving or destroying the local community? Conflicting spatial storylines in the Greenlandic debate on uranium

Cited by 31 publications

References 7 publications

Transitioning from an economic cluster to a collaborative community: mining projects in Greenland

Transitioning from an economic cluster to a collaborative community: mining projects in Greenland

The contours of the development of non-living resources in Greenland

Emotions, finances and independence. Uranium as a “happy object” in the Greenlandic debate on secession from Denmark

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