Linköping University | Faculty of Arts and Science | Department of Management and Engineering Master thesis | MSSc International and European Relations | 30 ECTS Fall term 2018 | ISRN: LIU-IEI-FIL-A--19/02962--SE Greenland: The Master Shaper of the Arctic? -A study about making change happen- Valentin Martínez Strömberg Superviser: Dr. Bo Persson Examiner: Dr. Per Jansson Submission: 7 January 2019 1 Upphovsrätt Detta dokument hålls tillgängligt på Internet – eller dess framtida ersättare – från publiceringsdatum under förutsättning att inga extraordinära omständigheter uppstår. Tillgång till dokumentet innebär tillstånd för var och en att läsa, ladda ner, skriva ut enstaka kopior för enskilt bruk och att använda det oförändrat för ickekommersiell forskning och för undervisning. Överföring av upphovsrätten vid en senare tidpunkt kan inte upphäva detta tillstånd. All annan användning av dokumentet kräver upphovsmannens medgivande. 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Subsequent transfers of copyright cannot revoke this permission. All other uses of the document are conditional upon the consent of the copyright owner. The publisher has taken technical and administrative measures to assure authenticity, security and accessibility. According to intellectual property law the author has the right to be mentioned when his/her work is accessed as described above and to be protected against infringement. For additional information about the Linköping University Electronic Press and its procedures for publication and for assurance of document integrity, please refer to its www home page: http://www.ep.liu.se/. © Valentin Strömberg 2 Abstract The Arctic region is changing. This is an oft-cited statement researcher, policy-makers and the general public say about the Arctic. But who can change the Arctic order? This academic paper is interested in determine Greenland’s role and ‘actorness’ in this changeable region. Adopting an interpretivist approach, I advocate to embrace the narrative turn in IR as a useful move to understand how Greenland, as a sub-state regional entity, can enhance its agency capacity in Arctic affairs. Using phronetical case study, govermentality and narrative analysis as main methodologies, this study decipher how the Arctic governance has changed and been shaped by different narratives and governmental practices. Greenland’s possibilities to exercise more power have been analysed through the lenses of ontological security theory because this theory is intimately related to human agency. However, this theory presents several challenges that must be overcome by doing a revision of the theory. The final results are discusses in a reflexive manner adopting four phronetical value-rational questions that policy-makers should take into account when planning any relevant strategic action, such as Greenland’s visibility and empowerment in Arctic affairs. Keywords: Greenland, Arctic governance, phronesis, ontological security theory, change, narratives, governmental practices, power. Word count: 25. 008 (excluding footnotes, abstract, acknowledgement, abbreviations, table of content, figures, titles, reference list and annexes) 3 This page intentionally left blank 4 Acknowledgement In first place I want to thank my supervisor Dr. Bo Persson for his guidance. I finish this Master’s program after two years with a broader skill set in IR and, most importantly, with an enhanced critical judgement I have my professors to thank, especially to Dr. Per Jansson. During my stay in Linköping and in Nuuk I have found good friends with whom I have shared unforgettable anecdotes. I want to thank you all for this short but lovely chapter in life we have shared. I want to translate my eternal gratitude to my three interviewees, Mr. Hjalmar Dahl; Mrs. Aaja Chemnitz Larsen and Mrs. Vivian Motzfeldt for having accepted my invitation. Without their participation, this study would not have been the same. Last but not the least, I want to thank my family for all the love and support I get from them every single day. I want to thank my mother, Catarina Strömberg, for being the best mother in the world. You are my goddess. 5 This page intentionally left blank 6 Abbreviations AC Arctic Council AEPS Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy CAFF The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna EU European Union GovGr Government of Greenland IA Inuit Ataqatigiit ICC Inuit Circumpolar Council IPP Indigenous Permanent Participants IR International Relations OCTA Association of the Overseas Countries and Territories of the European Union OST Ontological security theory UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea US United States of America USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 7 TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 10 1.1. GREENLAND AND THE ARCTIC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 1.2. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND MOTIVATIONS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 1.3. AIM OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 CHAPTER II. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 13 2.1. ONTOLOGICAL AND EMPISTEMOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------- 13 2.2. PHRONETICAL CASE STUDY --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 2.3. GOVERNMENTALITY AND POWER: A FOUCAULDIAN APPROACH ------------------------------------------------------ 16 2.4. METHODS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19 2.5. LIMITATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20 CHAPTER III. THEORETICAL DISCUSSION ............................................................................. 22 3.1. WHAT IS CHANGE? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22 3.2. ONTOLOGICAL SECURITY THEORY ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 CHAPTER IV. GREENLAND’S IDIOSYNCRATIC POLITICAL SYSTEM ....................................... 34 4.1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION ------------------------------------------------------ 34 4.2. GREENLAND’S FOREIGN RELATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 4.3. GREENLAND’S BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 4.4. CONCLUSION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44 CHAPTER V. NARRATIVES SHAPING THE ARCTIC .................................................................. 46 5.1. ARCTIC GOVERNANCE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 5.2. THE ARCTIC AS THE LAST FRONTIER --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48 5.3. THE ARCTIC AS A BUFFER ZONE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 50 5.4. THE ARCTIC AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANT AREA ----------------------------------------------------------------- 53 5.5. THE ARCTIC AS A RICH REGION TO EXPLOIT ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 53 5.6. THE ARCTIC AS A POPULATED AREA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 5.7. CONCLUSION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 56 CHAPTER VI. CHANGES IN THE ARCTIC GOVERNANCE ......................................................... 57 6.1. MURMANSK MOMENTUM AND THE FINNISH INITIATIVE ----------------------------------------------------------------- 57 6.2. THE CANADIAN INITIATIVE AND THE ARCTIC COUNCIL -------------------------------------------------------------------- 60 6.3. GREENLAND’S ROLE IN THE AC AND THE RUSSIAN FLAG-PLANT ------------------------------------------------------- 62 6.4. THE ILULISSAT DECLARATION & WESTPHALIAN TURN -------------------------------------------------------------------- 65 8 6.5. CONCLUSION