Books
Performing Arctic Sovereignty: Policy & Visual Representations
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The Arctic is 5.5 million square miles and has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years, yet it is still a frontier of development. But who owns the Arctic?
This book charts the history of performances of sovereignty over the Arctic in the policy and visual representations of the US, Canada and Russia. Focusing on narratives of the effective occupation of territory found in postage stamps, it offers a novel analysis of Arctic sovereignty. Issues such as climate change, plastics pollution and resource development continue to impact the future of this space centred around the North Pole. Who is responsible for the region? This book examines how countries have absorbed Arctic territory into their national consciousness, examining the choice of, and use of, symbols and images in postage stamps. It looks at the story of how these countries have represented their Arctic frontiers and territorial peripheries. The book argues that the performance of policy in these regions has caused relative sovereignty to become a reality. It provides an intriguing account of how these countries have, in their distinctive ways, established, legitimised and reinforced their political authority in these regions. |
Other publications
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Messages on Arctic Policy:
Effective Occupation in the Postage Stamps of the United States, Canada & Russia The Arctic policies of the United States, Canada, and Russia have received considerable attention on the international stage in recent years, although engagement by these states with the region extends through many eras. Overlooked in analyses of Arctic policy and practice in the region are the messages communicated through postage stamps, noted in their importance as transmitters of government messages, as these states emphasize claims to sovereignty and the resources of the region.
These Arctic states issued a number of stamps depicting the Arctic throughout their engagement with the region, long before any formal policy documents addressed contemporary geostrategic concerns. This article surveys all Arctic postage stamps issued by these three states and analyzes their messages for correlation with official Arctic policy in several periods, concluding that there is substantial relationship between the issued stamps and the practice and policy of these Arctic states as they demonstrate their effective occupation of the region. |
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The Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement:
Text, Framing and Logic The 2011 ‘Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic’ (henceforth SAR Agreement) is the first instrument of hard law produced by the eight states of the Arctic Council. While the agreement ostensibly addresses search and rescue related issues for the Arctic region, it is capable of being understood in a variety of legal, political and cultural contexts. Three elements are teased out in particular – the SAR Agreement as a legal policy document, as indicative of evolving Arctic international relations, and as indicative of particular geopolitical logics. As the paper concludes, however, the SAR Agreement has not been entirely free of political intrigue.
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