322
Arctic Yearbook 2015
unique in its particular constellation of identity factors, the concept of Arctic state identity is
undoubtedly relevant elsewhere too. While Russian authorities emphasise its long polar history, and
the Icelandic draw on its connection to the oceans, there are clearly many ways in which national
narratives and identity become intertwined in Arctic policy. However, as a state with much to gain
from its Arctic statehood, potential internalisation and reification of current governance will inevitably
manifest differently elsewhere than in Norway – not least among those not privy membership therein.
Nonetheless, the Norwegian experience – granting a small state a big role in this exclusive region –
serves as an illustration of how state identity and governance may at times be intimately interwoven,
thereby contributing to understandings of Arctic governance beyond and beneath the material surface
of interstate relations.
Notes
1. The Norwegian government often favours the term ‘The High North’; in Norwegian
‘nordområdene’, literally ‘the northern areas’.
2. To ensure full confidentiality the respondents are only referred to by alphabetic letter
according to the time of their interviews. The interviews were conducted mainly during July
2014, and distributed as: four in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; one in the Ministry of
Defence; one in the Ministry of Justice and Public Security; one in the Ministry of Climate and
the Environment; one in the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation; one in the
Ministry of Education and Research; and seven Members of Parliament. Note that this is part
of a larger, ongoing study on Arctic statehood and political identity in Norway, Iceland, and
Canada.
3. All translations from Norwegian are by the author herself, as close to the original as possible.
Of course, relying on a snowball strategy and general willingness to participate, the
participants’ views are not necessarily generalisable, but rather illustrate how individuals at the
state-level perceive their state as being (or not being) ‘Arctic’.
References
Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London:
Verso.
Antonsich, M. (2009). On Territory, the Nation-State and the Crisis of the Hyphen. Progress in
Human Geography, 33(6): 789–806.
Arbo, P., Iversen, A., Knol, M., Ringholm, T., & Sander, G. (2013). Arctic Futures:
Conceptualizations and Images of a Changing Arctic. Polar Geography, 36(3): 163–182.
Big Fish in a Small (Arctic) Pond