Nordic Journal on Law and Society Vol. 1, No. 01-02 The Nordic Journal on Law and Society (NJOLAS) is a peer-reviewed open access journal that publish critical and interdisciplinary socio-legal studies of particular relevance for the Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and political and geographic entities including the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Sápmi and Åland). Its aim is to provide an intellectual space and meeting-place for critical and socio-legal scholars and to develop critical approaches to law and society in its broadest sense, for example from feminist, intersectional, post-colonial, critical race, historical, socio- economic and everyday life perspectives. The journal welcomes a variety of approaches and scholarship such as theoretical papers, results of empirical studies, methodological work, reviews and work dedicated to didactics in legal education. The publishing language is English. The journal applies a double-blind peer review procedure and is committed to making scholarly work on Law and Society in the Nordic countries widely available through open access publishing. No fees are charged for publication or subscription. For guidelines on submitting manuscripts, please visit: https://journals.ub.umu.se/njolas/about/submissions Co-Editors-in-Chief Professor Åsa Gunnarsson, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society Associate Professor Monica Burman, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society Associate Editor Dr. Martin Eriksson, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society Editorial Board Associate Professor Christina Allard, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden Professor Håkan Gustafsson, Karlstad University, Sweden Professor Anne Hellum, University of Oslo, Norway Professor Rosemary Hunter, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom Professor Louise Langevin, Université Laval, Canada Professor Titti Mattsson, Lund University, Sweden Professor Päivi Naskali, University of Lapland, Finland Professor Kevät Nousiainen, University of Turku, Finland Professor Hanne Petersen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Professor Ann Öhman, Umeå University, Sweden Mailing Address E-mail and phone Nordic Journal on Law and Society Martin Eriksson (Editorial Team) Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society [email protected] Umeå University +4690 7866232 SE-901 87 UMEÅ Sweden Webpage https://journals.ub.umu.se/njolas/index Table of contents Editorial: Welcome to the Nordic Journal on Law and Society! Monica Burman, Åsa Gunnarsson…………………………………………………… 4 Gender equality in the Arctic and North; socio-legal and geopolitical challenges Åsa Gunnarsson, Eva-Maria Svensson……………………………………………… 6 Articles: Gender Equality in the Governance of the Arctic Region Eva-Maria Svensson……………………………………………………………………….16 “Even if a sparrow is small, it still has all organs”. Chinese and Greenlandic Gendered Perspectives on the Global Arctic. Hanne Petersen……………………………………………………………………………. 65 Mobility Practices and Gender Contracts: Changes in Gender Relations in Coastal Areas of Norway’s High North Siri Gerrard…………………………………………………………………………………..91 Whose Gender Equality Counts? The Case of Russian Migrant Couples in Norway Natalia Kukarenko………………………………………………………………………… 114 Transnational marriages in the north: Legal issues of Russian women married to Norwegian men Hege Brækhus……………………………………………………………………………… 135 Russian women’s labour rights: theory and practice Tatiana Zykina, Ekaterina Sazanova……………………………………………….. 155 Wellbeing and gender equality for the elderly in the context of Arctic Sweden Lena Wennberg……………………………………………………………………………. 176 Men’s intimate partner violence against Sami women - a Swedish blind spot Monica Burman……………………………………………………………………………. 194 Nordic Journal on Law and Society Vol. 01, no. 01-02 (2017), pp. 4-5 EDITORIAL Welcome to the Nordic Journal on Law and Society! Monica Burman1 Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, Sweden Åsa Gunnarsson2 Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, Sweden Nordic Journal on Law and Society (NJOLAS) is a new, peer-reviewed, open access journal published online and hosted by Umeå University, Sweden. The journal publishes, in two annual issues, critical and interdisciplinary socio-legal scholarship of particular relevance for the Nordic region. NJOLAS aim to provide an intellectual space and meeting-place for critical and socio-legal scholars and to develop critical approaches to law and society in its broadest sense, for example from feminist, intersectional, post- colonial, critical race, historical, socio-economic and everyday life perspectives. The journal welcomes a variety of approaches and scholarship such as theoretical papers, results of empirical studies, methodological work, reviews and work dedicated to didactics in legal education. The journal is administered by Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society. NJOLAS adopts a rolling content format which enables us to post the articles as soon as they are ready for publication. The aim is to improve research communication and make research on Law and Society in the Nordic countries widely available. This first issue, edited by professor Eva-Maria Svensson and professor Åsa Gunnarsson, is dedicated to the theme of gender equality in the Arctic. Researching gender equality in the Arctic region produces unique knowledge with the potential to have an impact among stakeholders with an interest in how this geopolitical area is governed and developed. The issue contributes with some insights on the importance of integrating gender equality policies in the future challenges for welfare and sustainability programs for the region. Together, the articles form a socio- legal contribution to fill an identified knowledge gap about gender equality in the Arctic and in the geopolitics of Arctic. 1 Co-Editor in Chief. Address: Monica Burman, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Co-Editor in Chief. Address: Åsa Gunnarsson, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] ã 2017 Monica Burman, Åsa Gunnarsson This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY4.0 License 5 We hope this journal will bring new academic insights and promote the evolution of interdisciplinary socio-legal studies. Please spread the message about the journal, and send us your work for consideration for future issues. Nordic Journal on Law and Society Vol. 01, no. 01-02 (2017), pp. 6-15 SPECIAL ISSUE Gender equality in the Arctic and North; socio-legal and geopolitical challenges Åsa Gunnarsson1 Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, Sweden Eva-Maria Svensson2 Department of Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Gender inequality and infringements of women’s human rights are problems in all Arctic states and the geopolitics of the Arctic is gendered (CEDAW country reports; Nymand Larsen and Findahl 2015). Much of the economic gains have not been re-invested in the Artic region, suffering under what has been conceptualized as the ‘Paradox of Plenty’ (Lahey, Svensson and Gunnarsson 2014). The concept, also called the resource curse, aims to capture the exploitation of economies that rely heavily on natural resources. It was already recognized in the 1950s that low- and middle income countries, living on natural resources such as fossil fuels and minerals had comparatively low economic growth, low levels of democratic development, and large public deficits. However, the syndrome is not isolated to developing economies. Irrespective of the level of wealth and welfare structure in a state or a region, the abundance of natural resources seems to fuel the economy with quick cash that drains long-term social investments and under-develops sectors that are irrelevant for the natural resource industry. Consequently it drains public budgets and creates increased inequalities, and is particularly devastating for the progress of gender equality between men and women (Lahey 2015). The Arctic as a geopolitical space is formed in a nexus of conflicting interests, supposedly balanced by intergovernmental bodies established by the affected states (Dittmer et al. 2011). Koivurova has described the area as “an extension of existing political, economic, and environmental systems” (Koivurova 2014). It is a subject for international cooperation between eight states, and defined in intergovernmental bodies that also have included NGOs, IPOs and observers. The public governance is consolidated by policies, agreements, soft law and legal regulations. 1 Address: Åsa Gunnarsson, Umeå Forum for Studies on Law and Society, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Address: Eva-Maria Svensson, Department of Law, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Box 650, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected] ã 2017 Åsa Gunnarsson, Eva-Maria Svensson This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY4.0 License Nordic Journal on Law and Society 7 The Arctic has become increasingly interesting for the international community as an area of economic importance due to natural resources and increased access to sea and land (Ebinger and Zambetakis 2009) resulting in climate, economic, social and legal implications for people living in the region. These interests expose the Arctic to a huge load from economic activities, activities that at the same time produce