The Greenland Dilemma

This book is about Greenland’s rapidly changing role in the world and about it’s complex connections to Denmark, its former colonizer. It is about Greenland’s possible secession from the Kingdom of Denmark, oil, uranium and the difficulties that Greenlanders and Danes often have when they try to talk about their common past and Greenland’s place in the new, global future. The first part of this book builds on my travels and encounters with Greenland’s politicians, fishermen, schoolteachers and intellectuals – including my old classmate from Maniitsoq, who became a very wise vicar in her hometown and now appears in chapter 3. Through all these conversations I learned just how dramatic the present wave of changes in Greenland are. Never before did I understand just how complex the desire for increased independence is, or how dramatic the clashes between old and new are, or how volcanic the debate over which path to choose for the future can be. An insight into these local discussions is surely a prerequisite if one wants to understand the broader discussion about Greenland’s future relations to Denmark and its changing role in the world. The second part deals with hard-core politics – about mining and oil, and about the rest of the world’s – including China’s - interest in Greenland’s oil, gas, uranium, rare earths, gold and other riches. This part of the book grapples with the political in-fights in Greenland and with the power struggles between Denmark and Greenland over resources, foreign policy and identity. Legally, for half a century, Greenland has been part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but also increasingly a very self-conscious one of the sort. My observations flow from my work as a journalist in Greenland and Denmark over the past years, where I worked for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and other media outlets. I am Danish, I lived only two years in Greenland as a teenager, but I have come there often in later years. My errand is not to forward any opinion on Greenland’s position as a part of the Danish realm, nor do I pass judgment on the popular vision of future secession. If anything, I hope to throw light on the complexities involved and to encourage more people to take part in this important debate by providing detail, real human beings, facts and observations from places that would, for most people outside Greenland, be somewhat cumbersome to reach.

The heating Arctic has become a key issue in global politics. While Canada, China, Russia, and the United States increasingly send icebreakers, submarines, and other vessels to the Arctic, the ice itself continues to recede. Trade routes that kings and explorers have sought after for centuries are opening for the first time in human history, offering greater opportunities for human traffic, cultural exchange, science, the extraction of resources, and the transfer of goods from Asia to North America and Europe. With more Arctic land mass than any other country apart from Russia, Canada is a major player in the region, eagerly defending its sovereignty over its vast Arctic Archipelago.

This book intends to inform the key participants in extractive projects – namely, the communities, the host governments and the investors – about good practice for effective community engagement, based on analysis of international standards and expectations, lessons from selected case-studies and innovations in public participation. The extent of extractive industries varies widely around the Arctic as do governmental and social attitudes towards resource development. Whilst most Arctic communities are united in seeking investment to fund education, healthcare, housing, transport and other essential services, as well as wanting to benefit from improved employment and business opportunities, they have different views as to the role that extractive industries should play in this. Within each community, there are multiple perspectives and the goal of public participation is to draw out these perspectives and seek consensus. Part I of the book analyses the international standards that have emerged in recent years regarding public participation, in particular, in respect of indigenous peoples. Part II presents six case studies that aim to identify both good and bad practices and to reflect upon the distinct conditions, needs, expectations, strategies and results for each community examined. Part III explores the importance of meaningful participation from a corporate perspective and identifies some common themes that require consideration if Arctic voices are to shape extractive industries in Arctic communities. In drawing together international law and standards, case studies and examples of good practice, this anthology is a timely and invaluable resource for academics, legal advisors and those working in resource development and public policy.

Reclaiming Participatory Governance offers empirical and theoretical perspectives on how the relationship between social movements and state institutions is emerging and developing through new modes of participatory governance. One of the most interesting political developments of the past decade has been the adoption by social movements of strategies seeking to change political institutions through participatory governance. These strategies have flourished in a variety of contexts, from anti-austerity and pro-social justice protests in Spain, to movements demanding climate transition and race equality in the UK and the USA, to constitutional reforms in Belgium and Iceland. The chief ambition and challenge of these new forms of participatory governance is to institutionalise the prefigurative politics and social justice values that inspired them in the first place, by mobilising the bureaucracy to respond to their claims for reforms and rights. The authors of this volume assess how participatory governance is being transformed and explore the impact of such changes, providing timely critical reflections on: the constraints imposed by cultural, economic and political power relations on these new empowered participatory spaces; the potential of this new "wave" of participatory democracy to reimagine the relationship between citizens and traditional institutions towards more radical democratic renewal; where and how these new democratisation efforts sit within the representative state; and how tensions between the different demands of lay citizens, organised civil society and public officials are being managed. This book will be an important resource for students and academics in political science, public administration and social policy, as well as activists, practitioners and policymakers interested in supporting innovative engagement for deeper social transformation. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

This volume, incorporating the work of scholars from various parts of the globe, taps the wisdom of the Westphalian (and post-Westphalian) world on the use of federalism and secession as tools for managing regional conflicts. The debate has rarely been more important than it is right now, especially in light of recent events in Catalonia, Scotland, Québec and the Sudan - all unique political contexts raising similar questions about how best to balance competing claims for autonomy, interdependence, political voice, and exit. Exploring how various nations have encountered comparable conflicts, some more and some less successfully, the book broadens the perspectives of scholars, government officials, and citizens struggling to resolve sovereignty conflicts with a full appreciation of the underlying principles they represent.

“An entertaining tale rich in schadenfreude as bad things happen to a hapless billionaire” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Jay Gladstone was born to privilege. He is a civic leader and a generous philanthropist, as well as the owner of an NBA team. But in today’s New York, even a wealthy man’s life can spin out of control, no matter the money or influence he possesses. Jay sees himself as a moral man, determined not to repeat his father’s mistakes. He would rather focus on his unstable second marriage and his daughter, Aviva, than worry about questions of race or privilege. However, he moves through a sensitive and aware world: that of Dag Maxwell, the black star forward, and white police officer Russell Plesko, who makes a decision that has resonating consequences—particularly for a DA whose hopes for a future in politics will rest on an explosive prosecution. Set during Barack Obama’s presidency, this artful novel illuminates contemporary America and does not shy away from questions about our scalding social divide—why is conversation about race so fraught, to what degree is the justice system impartial, and does great wealth inoculate those who have it?—and explores the aftermath of unforgivable errors and the unpredictability of the court of public opinion. “Greenland takes a Dickensian delight in letting the plot sprawl with parallels, digressions, false leads, and twists.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A wild and funny page-turner of a novel that grabs you and doesn’t let go.” —Larry David

The way we exist in society defines our place in its social structures and reaffirms our belonging, identity, and dignity. Europe is a continent characterized by many internal conflicts and ongoing struggles inside societies. The battlefield is society itself, where state law clashes with ethnic law over the very identity of society. Exploring debates from Scandinavia to Spain about the religious and political autonomy and freedom, this book explains that the violation of the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples, such as the Sami and Basque peoples, remains a problem in Europe. In addition to these political conflicts, Magdalena Butrymowicz analyzes the legal and religious culture within minority ethnic structures themselves. Ultimately, this book raises timely questions about the balance between state control and legal autonomy for ethnic minorities across Europe advocating for a new definition of ethnic law as the right of ethnic minorities, creating their legal and ethnic identity. The book will interest anyone exploring the dynamic between European states and the ethnic minorities that live in them.