Environmental security and Indigenous peoples: perspectives from the Arctic

Abstract

The Arctic region has recently received renewed attention because of the effects of climate change and the prioritisation of the threats posed by it in the security policies of the Arctic states. The consequences of climate change, however, most severely affect the indigenous peoples that inhabit the territories of the Arctic states, which perspectives have usually been excluded from security studies. While in some ways ahead of other indigenous peoples of the world in terms of rights to autonomy and self-determination, this dissertation will present how colonial mechanisms still persists in the relationship between the indigenous communities and their national governments, and how this contributes to their insecurities. In particular, the focus will be on the relations between Canada and its Inuit communities, Norway and the Sámi people, and Greenland and the Inuit of Kalaallit Nunaat. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate whether indigenous perspectives of security correspond to and are reflected in the security policies of the Arctic states they inhabit. It will do so while at the same time analysing whether climate change and its rise in importance in terms of security concerns has helped to overcome the colonial heritage in the relationship between Arctic states' governments and their...