governance

Governance is a multilevel and multidimensional concept. It brings together regulations, practices, institutions and goals such as sustainability. It includes both public and private governance. It encompasses government hierarchies, networks and governmentality. It is a dynamic notion, an object in constant flux. That is clearly visible in the Arctic, a region undergoing profound environmental, economic and social change, where new actors are coming to the fore and new regulatory frameworks are emerging. No single researcher or a single study can give justice to this richness encompassed within the concept of “Arctic governance”.

Photo: Jouni Porsanger / Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The idea of the Arctic Centre’s Arctic Governance Research Group is to bring together an interdisciplinary and international team of scholars who are researching diverse dimensions of governance in the Arctic. Arctic governance is a multidimensional research object and the interdisciplinary nature of the research group reflects the need for a holistic approach to the research of Arctic governance. Embedded in the overall work of the Arctic Centre, the University of Lapland and of the Lapland University Consortium, the research group aims to generate knowledge that has the potential to provide practical benefits for the people who live in the circumpolar Arctic, but also beyond. Our aim is to render complexity of Arctic governance more transparent and provide policy-makers, scholars and other actors with a more holistic knowledge-base to make better informed and more responsible decisions.

The research group is led by Prof. Stefan Kirchner.

The Arctic Governance Research Group consists of experts from different scientific backgrounds who share an interest in the governance of the Arctic, in particular, regarding international law and its role in the polar regions, Arctic governance and cooperation in the Arctic, the protection of the natural environment, ocean governance, climate change and climate justice, human rights, securities, and the future of the Arctic region. These research topics often overlap with each other and connect the Arctic Governance Research Group with other research groups at the Arctic Centre and with researchers elsewhere in the Lapland University Consortium, the University of the Arctic and partner institutions around the world. In addition to researchers who work at the Arctic Centre, affiliated researchers from different institutions and areas of competence complement the research group. An agile network with flat hierarchies, our global, multidisciplinary team aims to create and share knowledge that provides practical benefits for the people who live in the Arctic, and to contribute to the development of scientific knowledge in different fields worldwide.