The Globalization of the Arctic: Negotiating Sovereignty and Building Communities in Svalbard, Norway
The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has been under Norwegian sovereignty since 1920 yet remains subject to international law. Until recently, the islands’ only major economic activities were unprofitable Russian and Norwegian funded mining operations aimed at maintaining continuous settlement. Now, h...
| Published in: | Journal of Structural Geology |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Island Studies Journal
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.264 https://doaj.org/article/4e893110f4804a4fbe5e883e732d078a |
| Summary: | The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard has been under Norwegian sovereignty since 1920 yet remains subject to international law. Until recently, the islands’ only major economic activities were unprofitable Russian and Norwegian funded mining operations aimed at maintaining continuous settlement. Now, however, Norway’s topdown governance of the territory has been complicated by the emergence of economic diversity, multinationalism, and local democracy in the town of Longyearbyen. Simultaneously, China and other states are promoting their Arctic interests by exploiting the preoccupation with Russia that characterizes Norway’s Svalbard policy. By interpreting Svalbard’s local communities through the prism of international relations, this article highlights the practical challenges to creating genuinely international territories. |
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