Neoliberalisations in Finnish forestry

Neoliberal governance strategies change relations between the environment, the state, market actors, and civil society throughout the globe. Such strategies include privatisation, rescaling governance in order to detour state-based decision structures, externalising negative costs, internalising externalities in search of profit via, e.g., a more responsible corporate image, and moving state functions to non-state actors. We examine 1) how the environment and other factors motivate neoliberal strategies, 2) how different stakeholders have reacted to the neoliberal strategies, and 3) what the social and environmental outcomes of these strategies are. We examine these questions regarding two cases in northern Finland: the closure of a formerly state-owned pulp mill in Kemijärvi, and the market-based pressure strategies of NGOs towards state-based forestry in Inari. We make a set of conclusions on the nature of the neoliberal strategies regarding the three previously mentioned questions. These conclusions relate to the observations that internalisation of negative externalities happens only under pressure, that the resistance towards neoliberal strategies is often inefficient, and that neoliberal strategies lead to marginalisations and empowerments. Previously state-dominated forestry decision-making in Finland seems to be changing towards decisions put forward by market actors, such as corporations, civil society actors, such as NGOs, and local actor groups.

► We examine a pulp mill closure and a forest dispute in northern Finland.
► Insights from literature on neoliberal environments are used.
► Neoliberalisations advanced by forest companies and ENGOs create resistance.
► Neoliberalisations lead to marginalisation and empowerment.
► Negative externalities are internalised only under pressure.