Challenging Development and the North-South Divide - A Postcolonial Analysis of the Sami People in Sweden

• Main Author: Regnell, Aline
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Statsvetenskapliga institutionen 2017
• Subjects: the Sami people; development; postcolonialism; identity; Globalisation Studies; Globaliseringsstudier; sami
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-339889

This thesis examines how the Sami people, as an indigenous people in Sweden, relate to the dichotomous concept of the global North and the global South. The study builds on the framework of postcolonial theory, its connection to development studies, and its critique of the concept of the global North and the global South. Another central part of the study is the concept of identity within postcolonial theory. By exploring material from the Swedish Sami parliament and the Sami info center, the research and analysis concluded that the Sami people relate to a dual identity of being both Sami and Swedish, meaning that they identify both to the global North as well as being an indigenous people. The Sami people do also associate themselves with other indigenous groups in the South, mostly in relation to colonialism and its consequences. Thereby the North-South divide is challenged.