Narratives and Hegemony in the Finnish Eduskunta - A Narrative Policy Framework Analysis of Finnish Energy Policy Narratives

Abstract

Finland is a critical case in climate policy because of the prestigious position it occupies on the world stage as a bastion of good governance, yet its climate policies have serious flaws, the same ones that hinder movement on climate issues worldwide. This study uses the Narrative Policy Framework to analyze policy narratives over the Finnish energy bill: HE 175/2017. Informed by the theories of hegemony and discourse, the study identifies that the revealed content and strategy in the policy narratives serves as evidence for a hegemonic set of market-friendly narratives that are consistent both in that specific policy arena and also in the wider discourse on climate change. Within the specific policy arena, a coherent energy elite were the sole participants and their narratives reflected their interests exclusively, resulting in a homogenous set of strategies around victimization and general acceptance of the theory of markets as solution to the climate crisis.