The circumpolar north is currently undergoing changes due to its connection to non-Arctic regions, states and peoples and the growing interests that the Earth's northernmost creates. This process of change stemming from non-Arctic forces is not a new phenomenon, but has characterised the developments in the north for centuries. Literature that links the circumpolar north and globalization is however sparse and Heininen's and Southcott's volume aims to contribute to fill this gap with chapters of experts on different issues of a globalized Arctic.
Nine chapters therefore link different facets of change in the north with globalization. It must be noted that the focus of this book lies solely on the social and political sciences, whereas changes of the natural environment are not considered. Instead, the book opens with a chapter on a general overview of existing literature, definitions and scope of the subsequent chapters. It enables the reader to understand what is meant with a term such as ‘globalization’ and makes the concept clear. To this end, economic, political and cultural globalization are identified, setting the stage for the chapters to come.
Southcott takes the history of the circumpolar north with regard to globalizing forces into the focus of attention. He argues that there are four layers of economy, subsistence, pre-industrial colonialism, industrialism and globalization, constituting the different regional economies in the north. These layers are tied to global processes, contributing to the creation of Arctic peripheries, benefitting primarily those outside of the region. This is a rather old phenomenon. It has intensified in recent years, standing in stark contrast to the political empowerments that Arctic peoples and regions have experienced. Lee Huskey in his chapter takes Arctic economies under closer scrutiny and links historical economic developments to the current economic situation in northern communities. This reviewer however found the rather old economic data that was presented a little disturbing, as political and economic changes occur swiftly in the north. Notwithstanding, the principles of the economic environment in the circumpolar north become very clear.
The aforementioned political regional empowerment is taken up by Jerry McBeath, who focuses on the devolutionary processes in the circumpolar north and shows how differently the circumpolar regions have experienced self-determination and/or autonomy. The different characteristics of self-determination and the processes leading to increased autonomy vary greatly between the regions, and the reader is able to see different trends shaping the degree and nature of political empowerment.
The subsequent three chapters deal exclusively with the linkage between northern livelihoods and globalization. Riabova claims that although northern communities are increasingly linked to global processes, they themselves must be engaged in maintaining their well-being. What challenges this can bring forward is shown by Nuttall, who presents different cases of epistemological conflicts, being triggered by traditional livelihoods such as polar bear or whale hunting and resistance from the outside world. However, the forces of globalization also make self-awareness and cultural distinctiveness much more prominent and therefore contribute to the strengthening of identity. This is further elaborated upon by Elina Helander-Renvall who gives two case study examples from the Sea Sámi in northern Norway and reindeer herders in Yamal Nenet Autonomous Okrug. She highlights the mimicry-strategies of local peoples to counter the changes brought about by globalization, using the same tools and means that globalizing forces employ themselves.
The last two chapters leave the local once again and focus on security in the circumpolar north on the one hand, and international relations and cooperation on the other. Both chapters are written by Lassi Heininen. In his chapter on security he traces the development of traditional, military, security in the north up to the 1970s and 1980s when the notion of ‘security’ diversified and became more expansive. This change was triggered by the creation of knowledge on changes that occurred in the Arctic as well as the opening of the ‘iron curtain,’ which has contributed to locate military security within discourses and contexts of human, economic, environmental and energy security. The last chapter, although given the title ‘Circumpolar international relations and cooperation’ picks up several of the points brought forth in the different chapters and focuses on the cooperative structures within the circumpolar north. Here, international forums such as the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council or the Northern Forum are dealt with and their importance and role in region-building processes are highlighted. Moreover, Heininen contextualises the knowledge on the circumpolar north with the epistemic community, which has contributed to create several national, regional and international networks of cooperation. At the same time, northern energy development will further link non-Arctic and Arctic regions with each other. Heininen however highlights that due to the structures and the nature pertaining to Arctic cooperation, the potential for ‘hard’ conflict is minimal.
With this chapter the book ends. This reviewer would have liked to see a summarising or concluding chapter which makes the direct linkage between the different elements brought forth by the authors. This is, however, the only criticism that can be made here. Generally, the book provides a very interesting contextualisation of the Arctic within a globalized discourse. The authors do not point fingers or put blame on others, but provide a very balanced and well-nuanced approach toward the positive and negative impacts of the changes that the different streams of globalization have brought to the circumpolar north. But the book goes beyond the notion of ‘change’ and ‘globalization,’ but is truly a source of knowledge about the Arctic, its peoples and its histories. The way the different chapters take the others into account and build upon each other is wonderful and makes the different points easily understandable. The vast amount of cited literature on the topics touched upon enable the reader to delve more into the subjects of interest. This fact, the sheer information and new approaches, as well as the clear language would make this book very suitable as teaching material in university classes on globalization, Arctic governance or anthropology. I can only conclude by stressing the enjoyment this book has brought to me as it uses existing fundamental literature, such as the Arctic human development report (2004) or The economy of the north (Glomsrød and Aslaksen 2008), which the contributors refer to on many occasions, to be put in new, expanded contexts, while making the concept of globalization within an Arctic discourse understandable in a multifaceted manner.
