Research project Transbordering Business

Ferry traffic between Finland and Sweden became, in the postwar period, both a popular pastime and an important means of transport, carrying millions of passengers annually. Its appeal and business model have relied on providing goods and activities otherwise heavily regulated in both countries (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, gambling). The traffic has therefore been paradoxically perceived both as a challenge to the Nordic welfare model’s morality and health controls, and as a symbol of the states’ success and connectedness. To understand mobility consumption theoretically and empirically, we study how the use of the border has functioned as a driver of both mobility and trade during the past 60 years of ferry traffic across the Åland Sea.