Dialectics of Power: The Case of Tulihta Land-use Agreement

Case studies of planning which involve criminal corruption are rare. The article presents a Finnish court case known as “Tulihta”, concerning the breach of a land purchase contract and treachery in the preparation of the detailed plan for the land property in question, during 1989–1993. The case is analysed from the power perspective by using a framework developed by Mäntysalo and Rajaniemi (2003 Mäntysalo, R. and Rajaniemi, J. 2003. Vallan ulottuvuuksia maankäytön suunnittelussa. Synteesi, 22(3): 117–136.  Google Scholar]). In the framework, two sets of binary characteristics of power, namely power as control and as ability, and explicit and implicit power, are combined into a horizontal-vertical field. The case analysis is aimed to test the applicability of the framework, as well as to reveal the manifold aspects of power at play in a land-use planning process.