Routledge Politics of Forests: Northern Forest-industrial Regimes in the Age of Globalization (The Dynamics of Economic Space)

Bringing together case studies from Canada, the Nordic countries and Russia, this book is the first to provide a comparative examination of the current transformations in the forest industry regimes and the challenges they make for the communities dependent on this industry. Questioning how globalization has influenced forest regimes, the book focuses on individual forest companies and argues that they are the main motors of the industry's internationalization, often without taking due consideration of the complex interrelations between society, the environment and forest trade. During the current phase of globalization, the sphere of material production within the forest industry has increasingly been modified by more speculative signals from the market. Both the growing role of investor interests, as well as the broader societal demands for 'greening' the production chain, have forced managers to be more sensitive to the performance profile and image of their companies. In conclusion, the book highlights instances of processes working towards homogenization and diversity, and suggests that while Anglo-American management practice is increasingly important across the northern forest regions, it is also meeting with resistance due to historical and political conditions. Review ’Politics of Forests does us the huge favor of turning our attention towards the North to better understand the fate of the forests under capitalism. By focusing on the specific dynamics of firms operating in northern forests from the Russian taiga to the Canadian Shield to northern Scandinavia, this book clearly lays out what is at stake when local ecologies - and firms - get drawn into global circuits of capital. The fine case studies provide a complex, compelling, and at times chilling, account of just how economically and ecologically central the seemingly marginal forests of the North really are.’ Professor Don Mitchell, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, USA ’This stimulating volume on the northern forest presents an accessible account of the internationalizing processes in operation in recent times. As such, it is of interest to a wide range of disciplines, and its encompassing of both North America and Eurasia is a feature of particular value.’ Professor Alexander Mather, University of Aberdeen, UK ’This well-made and clearly written book should be part of each Nordic nation library, and students will find it to be very useful...’ Environment and Planning About the Author Both at the University of Joensuu, Ari Aukusti Lehtinen is a Professor of Geography and Jakob Donner-Amnell is a Researcher in Social Policy/Environmental Policy. Bjornar Saether is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Geography at the University of Oslo, Norway.