Gotländsk Utveckling AB - en kvalitativ studie i Landsbygds- och Gotlandsupprorets deltagares attityder till regionalpolitiken på Gotland

Rural development on the island of Gotland has been in decline for years. In the year 2011/12, two uprisings were triggered. The first, the “Countryside Uprisings” was started against the local authority’s move to shut down 11 schools in the countryside and the second, the “Gotlandic Uprising” was against the high cost of ferry travel between Got-land and the Swedish mainland. The undercurrent of discontent that has become visible through these uprisings speaks of a regional policy that is not fulfilling its goals. The aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the experience of those involved in the two uprisings. Further, it will examine the opinions and emotions held by these people in relation to the regional poli-cy being dictated on three levels, by the EU, the Swedish government, and the munici-pality of Gotland. Through the conducting of interviews with four main people involved in the up-risings, the results show that the regional authority is considered to be highly influential in the context of rural development, as well as in citizens’ lives. At the same time, the citizens’ influence on the regional authority and development is considered to be low. In contrast, the government of Sweden is only noted as being influential in the negative context of the ferry travel. The stories from those interviewed show a great deal of an-ger, disappointment and mistrust for the public officials on the regional level as well as for the politicians on both regional and national levels. Societal views about European Union’s influence on Gotland are diverging. A theoretical analysis of the transcribed material shows that the people involved in the uprisings share a substantial mistrust for the authorities when it comes to regional de-velopment. Rather, they believe that the future of the countryside lies within the local community