Unpacking the dimensions of power in Norwegian second-home planning

Abstract

This article unpacks how power dynamics shape the inclusion and exclusion of environmental sustainability in municipal second-home planning in Norway. Bringing Steven Lukes’s three-dimensional power framework into critical conversation with Gramsci's theoretical framework, the article explores decision-making processes, agenda control, and the expression of dominant discourses in the case of Sigdal, a highland Norwegian municipality. Municipal authorities are empirically observed acting to prioritize private economic growth over environmental concerns, often resisting state and regional interventions. Although the county governor constrains development ambitions, specific power dynamics act to reassert economic priorities. Landowners and developers exert a significant influence on local government, resulting in a blurring of public and private interests. Agenda-setting marginalizes sustainability by framing land-use debates around economic benefits, with public consultations occurring too late to alter outcomes. Dominant discourses present economic expansion as rational and necessary, while environmental concerns are dismissed as ‘complaints.’ Detailing how power dynamics reinforce institutional inertia favouring development over formal sustainability commitments, the article contributes to debates on governance and rural land-use planning and highlights in conclusion the need for more equitable and environmentally responsive decision-making.