In recent years, Norwegian communities have seen a rise in contentious land use disputes. The green transitionʼs demand for land has triggered conflicts over mining, wind power, solar parks, and power lines — a development expected to intensify as society moves toward a low-emission future.
These conflicts can have serious consequences for individuals, communities, and democracy: neighbours stop greeting one another, political parties fracture, and local communities find themselves opposing powerful national and industrial interests. In some cases, land disputes also deepen tensions between Indigenous peoples and the majority society.
At the same time, they can generate positive societal effects. They may spur political engagement, strengthen participation, and bring people together in town hall meetings and collective mobilisation. They can raise environmental awareness, create new alliances, and reinforce local identity and social ties.
In LANDSCAPE, we examine how these conflicts are experienced and discussed locally, and how this both shapes and is shaped by
- attitudes, values, and emotional engagement related to environmental issues
- sense of local identity and belonging
- social relationships within the community
- trust in authorities and democratic institutions
- democratic participation and citizenship
To explore this, we will conduct
- a systematic mapping of land use conflicts across Norway
- a comparative survey identifying differences in attitudes and participation between conflict-affected and other regions
- fieldwork in selected communities, observing public meetings, everyday encounters, and protest activities, and interviewing affected actors
- analyses of key documents and media texts
By combining broad mapping and survey data with situated fieldwork and textual analysis, the project provides comprehensive and in-depth knowledge about how land use conflicts shape everyday life, community relations, and democratic governance.
