Ideology, environment and forced relocation: Kiruna

Kiruna, a small town in the north of Sweden, is facing a major change because an expanding mining industry is threatening the town. The iron ore body runs under the central parts of the town and continued mining will cause that area to collapse. Therefore, the municipality of Kiruna (Kiruna kommun) has, under the influence of the mining company LKAB (Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag), decided to relocate parts of the town a few miles to the north-west. The relocation plans have attracted a great deal of attention in both national and international media. This article examines the ideological bias that characterizes various opinions in relation to the relocation plans, and especially the views of those in favour of the move, the mining company and the majority of the municipality of Kiruna.