Call for Participants: UArctic Thematic Network “Arctic Extractive Industries” Phd and Masters course
21.6.2017 9:33
Security, Geopolitics, and Governance Challenges in relation to Arctic Extractive Industries
Place: Nuuk, Greenland
Date: 16-22 October 2017
Deadline for applications: 30 June 2017
Notification of participation decision: 1 August 2017
Course description
There
is a pressing need for an improved, more nuanced and complex,
geopolitical and security understanding in the Arctic, that includes
both state and non-state actors. This need has been brought home time
and time again, particularly most recently with the speculation
surrounding the actions and activities of Russia and China. What are the
prevailing agendas, and who has influence on these?
During the
Cold War, the Arctic was about a reified notion of security and
geopolitics that was the purview of high politics and national
interests. Security was about the protection of the state, through the
use of military means. Geopolitics focused on the balances of power
between states as states appeared to jockey for the best position
globally in relation to their national interests. State interests and
these narrow (classic) assumptions about geopolitics still remain, but
the playing field has drastically changed. Non-state actors ranging from
local communities to industries, to non-governmental organizations, and
further to regional and international institutions, have demonstrated
that they all have interests and roles to play in the future of the
Arctic. The concept of security has (rightfully) been challenged by
those who have been excluded, and now includes perspectives about the
future that challenge state and classic political posturing.
International institutions like the Arctic Council have been designed to
include the voices of non-state actors, not least indigenous peoples,
sending a message that debates about Arctic Futures are not exclusive to
the state. Most recently, the rhetoric about the Arctic has been
captured by narrow security and geopolitical interpretations that look
to Russia as a new challenge, wishing a return to its role as a
superpower. In reality this posturing is complex, and extractive
industries play a fascinating and central role in the ways in which
Arctic nations negotiate new spaces.
Papers/presentations will
explore the relationships between state, industry and community in
Arctic regions. Presentations will look at the power dynamics behind the
development of extractive industries, both decision-making with regard
to relevant legal codes, but with a focus on who/what (state? Non-state
actors like Industry, non-governmental organizations? Communities and
then who in communities?) decides how law is formulated and why.
Additionally papers can explore who/what is determined as a legitimate
actor in these processes, and what happens in the event of competing
values around either extractives (primarily economic benefits, both to
local communities but also to the state not least with regard to energy
security but also geopolitical positioning) or cultures that rely on a
protected (rather than exploited) environment? How do local actors
influence these processes, or do they? And if they do, who are the local
actors that gain the power to participate in these processes and why?
Are they considered legitimate by all (particularly in local
communities) or not and why? How do local actors work with the state,
and to what degree are they either separate/independent from the state,
or not? How are political actors in the state-industry-community nexus
influencing broader governance strategies and law-making and geopolitics
in the Arctic regions?
Location: Nuuk, Greenland
Organizer: UiT The Arctic University of Norway jointly with University of Lapland
Course code: TBA (UiT) / TUKO 1217
Coordinators: Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv and Florian Stammler
Any
and all interested PhD and Masters students are welcome to apply.
Students in funding partner countries (Norway, Canada, USA, Russia,
China, Denmark, Finland) are eligible for funding – the number of funded
participants will be limited to the funding available. All applications
will be considered on the basis of three criteria
- quality of the application
- relevance of the application to the programme and course topic
- possible previous participation (to complete the UArctic certificate program)
If you want to apply, please provide the following to fstammle@ulapland.fi and gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no:
1. letter of motivation (why you want to go there and how is this related to your work)
2. CV
3. abstract of paper / chapter to be presented there, can be a draft article, a draft chapter, a draft research plan.
4. short ouline of your PhD or M.A. topic (surely you have that, just send it along)
5. scan of your passport, home address and telephone, for those who need a visa
If you send us items 1-5 before the deadline, your application will enter the selection pool for funded participation.