Canadian Leadership in the Circumpolar World: An Agenda for the Arctic Council Chairmanship 2013-2015
Abstract: The Arctic is a region of increasing global interest. Canadian interests in the region-economic, political, social, and environmental-would benefit from the development of an effective governance framework for the Arctic in terms of providing for stable, predictable, and sustainable use of the area's resources in a manner that benefits northern inhabitants. Canada has an opportunity to influence the Arctic policy agenda and promote Canada's interests as in 2013 it assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the high-level intergovernmental forum that discusses common circumpolar policy. This article outlines the issue areas most likely to benefit from regional co-operation, and which Canada should promote in the lead up to and during its chairmanship: Search and rescue, fisheries management, shipping regulations, and a regional seas agreement. The article argues that Canada should lead governance reform in the Arctic both because it is in Canada's interests to do so, and because Canada is uniquely placed to do so within the Circumpolar World.
Strengthening the Arctic Council: Insights From the Architecture Behind Canadian Participation
The Arctic has gone from being on the periphery of world affairs, as a venue of fading military tensions between two Cold War superpowers, to holding a prominent global profile and importance triggered by the dramatic environmental changes being observed. It is in this context that the Arctic Council has garnered international attention as a prominent player in the region. This article argues that exploring how the Arctic Council works is critical for understanding what the Council is and what it has the potential to be—in particular, by exploring how the internal organization of a state, such as Canada, serves to define the nature of a member state’s contribution and ultimately plays a critical role in shaping what the Council is.  This analysis exposes that there are, in fact, two modes of work at the sub- state level that support Canada’s involvement in the Council: first, the centralized and hierarchical systems and structures that support Canada’s participation as a unitary actor in the Arctic Council, and second, a system of horizontal and informal function-specific networks. This article concludes that the unit of analysis and the approach adopted to analyze how the Council works fundamentally alter not only our understanding of this international forum but also our understanding of the forces that have the potential to contribute to the Council’s success and evolution in the future.
Sami culture in a new era : the Norwegian Sami experience
The Sami are an ancient Arctic culture struggling for existence while adjusting to a modern way of life. They represent values that have enabled them to survive for thousands of years in a harsh northern climate. Here Sami scholars investigate the manifold experiences of an ethnic minority in the welfare state of modern Norway.This collection of articles covers a wide range of topics in present-day Sami life. It deals with some of the problems connected to the modernization of traditional livelihoods, such as reindeer husbandry, and it also delves into the ever-recurring question of how to maintain the identity of a threatened minority. The new roles of education, health care, mass media, and literature are discussed, as well as Sami history from a frontier perspective.