| dc.description.abstract | This thesis is based on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork done among the residents living in the town of Longyearbyen at Svalbard, about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. During my stay, I have explored the residents 1) everyday life, who they are, and where they come from; 2) the relationship between the differences in how they live their lives in Longyearbyen compared to how they lived in their home countries - when it comes to general trust; and 3) how the residents view Longyearbyen, and their participation in general trust in the town. A general theme throughout this thesis is the participating interests newly moved in residents in Longyearbyen have towards the general trust in town, which can be connected to their motivation for trust, whether it is internal, external or a combination of the two (Hardin, 2002, 52). The participation in general trust has manifested itself in both new and old residents, and is displayed in various ways in Longyearbyen. This thesis starts with a historical overview of Svalbard, with how Svalbard started as a no man's land and then was given to Norway to preserve and protect, making it Norwegian territory. I have written in chapter 1 about Longyearbyen’s development, given the town’s unique history of development, before bringing in a part on how the society in Longyearbyen has developed. Chapter 2 is a theoretical chapter focusing on the topic of trust, with sections describing trust and trustworthiness, distrust and demanding trust, personal and general/social trust, element of risk in trust, and trust in Scandinavia and Norway. For chapter 3, I have described how general trust is being played out in Longyearbyen, by bringing in several examples of how I witnessed it during my fieldwork. The chapter describes how property is treated differently in Longyearbyen by the residents, compared to in their home places. Chapter 4 focuses on how foreign residents moving to Longyearbyen adapt to and take part in general trust in Longyearbyen, this being even with the population being quite heterogeneous. In the final chapter, chapter 5, I address how the Norwegian population view trust in Longyearbyen, and how trust is being damaged in relations between strangers, and between people who know each other. Being that the population in Longyearbyen is highly rotating, with an average stay of 4 years per resident, the society is rapidly changing. My fieldwork was limited to only 9 month, showing only a small part of how the society functions. I am sure that if anyone is lucky enough to do a longer stay in Longyearbyen, they will come up with a wider contribution for the discipline. My ethnography is based on differences in Longyearbyen, but for someone who has the time, one will also find plenty of likenesses as well. | eng |