Sovereignty cubed: The Arctic as a territorial and ontological volume

• Published in: European Journal of Social Theory
• Main Author: Wood-Donnelly, Corine
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2024
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13684310241270533; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13684310241270533; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/13684310241270533

State sovereignty over space has traditionally been viewed as confined to a bounded land area. However, scholarship in critical cartography, political, and social theory shows this understanding to be flawed. This perspective not only limits understandings of sovereignty density, but also weakens our understanding of the limits of the state. This is particularly evident in the Arctic, where sovereignty discourse often fails to address the complexities of space in connection with authority and legitimacy for decision-making in the region. This article first critically examines Arctic sovereignty, challenging the notion of sovereignty as merely a horizontal area with land or sea boundaries. Instead, it argues that Arctic geopolitics and governance are better understood when sovereignty is considered as a scalar concept encompassing a territorial volume. Second, it contextualises the processes involved in the legitimisation of sovereignty and governance practices across the Arctic, framing this as ontological sovereignty. The article contends that Arctic sovereignty and governance are more comprehensively understood by shifting from a strictly material perspective to an ontological framing, which encompasses control over the nature and existence of Arctic spaces, with implications for future development and understandings of Arctic governance.