Category Archives: Volume 11, no.1 (2016)

Site-specific Perception. Philosophical reflections on the impact of environment on perception

23/03/2016Double-blind peer-reviewed articleArt, Baumgarten, Leibniz, Perception, Philosophy, aesthetics, atmosphere, interpretation, phenomenologyCarsten Friberg

The question raised is about the differences in perception between people due to different environmental backgrounds. The assumption is that we learn to perceive and that the environment is essential for this learning. This is discussed taking a classical philosophical view on perception from Leibniz and Baumgarten’s aesthetics recently revived in the concept of atmosphere, as proposed by Gernot Böhme. The conclusion points to questions of the consequences of the environment for our perception as well as to the importance of aesthetic education in training perception.

When the Treasury and its Models Seize Power

23/03/2016Double-blind peer-reviewed articleDenmark, Keynes, economics; political economyJesper Jespersen

This paper explains how short- and medium-term macroeconomic projections are undertaken within the Danish Ministry of Finance (DMF) by the use of an annual macroeconometric model, ADAM, together with a theoretical, structural general equilibrium model, DREAM. DREAM is used to calculate the structural public sector budget deficit, which by law is required never to exceed ½ percent of GDP. This legal restriction on fiscal policy gives the structural model (and the ‘model-operators’) a hitherto unseen political power. This ‘institutional’ status of DREAM causes a number of questions about democracy to be asked. First, why has an elected government accepted to surrender its legal right to undertake an active fiscal policy? Secondly, how can it be that DREAM – a neoliberal general equilibrium model without proper empirical tests and operated by anonymous civil servants – has been elevated to a position akin to a high court’s? The paper demonstrates how this model set-up within the DMF reproduces reality poorly. Therefore, these models should rather be seen as social constructs predetermined be neoclassical/neoliberal economic theory, which has to be acknowledged as a democratic challenge.

Little Italy: Seeking a Niche in International Arctic Relations

23/03/2016Double-blind peer-reviewed articleArctic, Italy, strategyRachael Lorna Johnstone & Federica Scarpa

In December 2015, The Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation published Verso una strategia italiana per l‘artico (Towards an Italian Strategy for the Arctic). In this article, the authors explain and evaluate the document in light of Italy’s connections to and interests in the Arctic, the Kiruna rules for observers at the Arctic Council, and the Arctic policies of other observers. They conclude that the intended audience for Verso una strategia is the Arctic States. Therefore, the document emphasises relevant Italian scientific efforts and promotes Italy’s oil and gas industry while downplaying the rights of indigenous peoples and avoiding issues of controversy. Publication of the document as a work in progress indicates the ministry’s willingness to listen to feedback and adapt its approaches as it develops a more comprehensive and nuanced strategy.

Holger Fleischer, Jesper Lau Hansen & Wolf-Georg Ringe (eds.), German and Nordic Perspectives on Company Law and Capital Markets Law (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Germany, Nordic countries, Scandinavia, company law, corporate lawAntoine Lochet

Book review of: Holger Fleischer, Jesper Lau Hansen & Wolf-Georg Ringe (eds.), German and Nordic Perspectives on Company Law and Capital Markets Law (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationals Privatrecht, Beiträge zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht, 2015)

Margareth Hagen & Margery Vibe Skagen (eds.), Literature and Chemistry – Elective Affinities (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)chemistry, literatureÁrsæll Már Arnarsson

Book review of: Margareth Hagen & Margery Vibe Skagen (eds.), Literature and Chemistry – Elective Affinities (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2015).

Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Arctic under International Law: Risk and Responsibility (Leiden: Brill, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic, gas, human rights, indigenous rights, international law, oilBjarni Már Magnússon

Book review of: Rachael Lorna Johnstone, Offshore Oil and Gas Development in the Arctic under International Law: Risk and Responsibility (Leiden, Brill), 2015, ISBN 978-90-042693-30, hardbound.

Erik Westholm, Karin Beland Lindahl & Florian Kraxner (eds.), The Future Use of Nordic Forests, A global perspective (Dordrecht: Springer, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Canada, Nordic countries, Sweden, climate change, forestryBrynhildur Bjarnadóttir

Book review of: Erik Westholm, Karin Beland Lindahl & Florian Kraxner (eds.), The Future Use of Nordic Forests, A global perspective (Dordrecht: Springer, 2015). 169 pp.

Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, French Philosophy and Social Theory. A Perspective for Ethics and Philosophy of Management (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Management, Philosophy, accounting, business ethicsCostanza Di Fabio

Book review of: Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, French Philosophy and Social Theory. A Perspective for Ethics and Philosophy of Management (Dordrecht: Springer, 2014)

C.M. Hall & J. Saarinen (eds.), Tourism and Change in Polar Regions (London: Routledge, 2010, pbk. ed.)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)tourismEdward H. Huijbens

Book review of: C.M. Hall & J. Saarinen (eds.), Tourism and Change in Polar Regions (London: Routledge, 2010, pbk. ed.)

Leive Lund, Yang Jian & Iselin Stensdal (eds.), Asian Countries and the Arctic Future (Singapore: World Scientific, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic, AsiaEgill Nielsson

Book review of: Leive Lund, Yang Jian & Iselin Stensdal (eds.), Asian Countries and the Arctic Future (Singapore: World Scientific, 2015)

István Sandor, Fiduciary Property Management and the Trust. Historical and Comparative Law Analysis (Budapest: HVG-ORAC, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Management, Roman law, civil law, property trustGábor Hamza

Book review of: István Sándor, Fiduciary Property Management and the Trust. Historical and Comparative Law Analysis (Budapest: HVG-ORAC Publishing Ltd., 2015, 465 p.)

Rikke Andreassen & Kathrine Vitus (eds.), Affectivity and Race. Studies from Nordic Countries (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Nordic, affect, race, racism, terrorismGiorgio Baruchello

Book review of: Rikke Andreassen & Kathrine Vitus (eds.), Affectivity and Race. Studies from Nordic Countries (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015)

Tom Houston, My Story with Governance. What I Have Learned from Running Christian Organizations (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Christianity, good governanceGiorgio Baruchello

Book review of: Tom Houston, My Story with Governance. What I Have Learned from Running Christian Organizations (Oxford: Regnum Books, 2014)

Steinar Imsen (ed.), The Norwegian Dominion and the Norse World c. 1100-c1400 & Taxes, Tributes and Tributary Lands in the Making of the Scandinavian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages (Trondheim: Tapir Academic Press, 2010 & 2011)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Britain, England, Nordic countries, Norse, Norway, Scotland, VikingsHans Bakker

Book review of: Steinar Imsen (ed.), The Norwegian Dominion and the Norse World c. 1100-c1400 and Taxes, Tributes and Tributary Lands in the Making of the Scandinavian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages (Trondheim: Tapir Academic Press, 2010 & 2011)

Uttam Kumar Sinha & Jo Inge Bekkevold (eds.), Arctic: Commerce, Governance and Policy (New York: Routledge, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic, Asia, Polar law, governance, tradeHeather Exner-Pirot

Book review of: Uttam Kumar Sinha & Jo Inge Bekkevold (eds.), Arctic: Commerce, Governance and Policy (New York: Routledge, 2015)

Pävi Naskali, Marjaana Seppänen & Shahnaj Begum (eds.), Ageing, Wellbeing and Climate Change in the Arctic. An interdisciplinary analysis (London: Routledge, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic, ageing, elderly, healthHermann Óskarsson

Book review of: Pävi Naskali, Marjaana Seppänen and Shahnaj Begum (eds.), Ageing, Wellbeing and Climate Change in the Arctic. An interdisciplinary analysis (London: Routledge’s series on advances in climate change research, 2015)

Nükhet Varlik, Plague and Empire in the Early Modern Mediterranean World. The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Black Sea, Caffa, Costantinople, Genoa, Mediterranean, Ottoman Empire, Venice, history, plagueJón Þ. Þór

Book review of: Nükhet Varlik, Plague and Empire in the Early Modren Mediterranean World. The Ottoman Experience, 1347-1600 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 336pp.

Ann Christys, Vikings in the South. Voyages to Iberia and the Mediterranean (London: Bloomsbury, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Italy, Portugal, Spain, VikingsJón Þ. Þór

Book review of: Ann Christys: Vikings in the South. Voyages to Iberia and the Mediterranean (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), 134 pp.

Klaus Dodds & Mark Nuttall, The Scramble for the Poles: The geopolitics of the Arctic and the Antarctic (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2016)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Antarctica, Arctic, international law, international relationsJulia Jabour

Book review of: Klaus Dodds and Mark Nuttall, The Scramble for the Poles: The geopolitics of the Arctic and the Antarctic (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2016)

Maria Sommer & Dion Sommer, Care, Socialization and Play in Ancient Attica. A Developmental Childhood Archaeological Approach (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)child psychology, classics, education, history, playKristina Egumenovska

Book review of: Maria Sommer & Dion Sommer, Care, Socialization and Play in Ancient Attica. A Developmental Childhood Archaeological Approach (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2015)

Francesco Sangriso, Snorri Sturluson Heimskringla: le saghe dei re di Norvegia III (Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Icelandic, Saga, Snorri, linguistics, philologyMarco Vignola

Book review of: Francesco Sangriso, Snorri Sturluson Heimskringla: le saghe dei re di Norvegia III (Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2015)

Gina Dahl, Libraries and Enlightenment: Eighteenth-Century Norway and the Outer World (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Enlightenment, Norway, anti-enlightenment; radical democracy, librariesMaria Pia Paganelli

Book review of: Gina Dahl, Libraries and Enlightenment: Eighteenth-Century Norway and the Outer World (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014)

Martin Hilpert et al. (eds.), New Trends in Nordic and General Linguistics. Linguae et litterae 42 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Nordic countries, linguisticsMatteo Tarsi

Book review of: Hilpert, Martin et al. (eds.), New Trends in Nordic and General Linguistics (Linguae et litterae 42, Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015).

Michael Böss (ed.), Conflicted Pasts and National Identities. Narratives of War and Conflict (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)historiography, memory, nationMonica Quirico

Book review of: Michael Böss (ed.), Conflicted Pasts and National Identities. Narratives of War and Conflict (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014), pp. 161.

Paul Caruana Galizia, Mediterranean Labor Markets in the First Age of Globalization. An Economic History of Real Wages and Market Integration (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Labour, Mediterranean, Migration, convergencePaolo Malanima

Book review of: Paul Caruana Galizia, Mediterranean Labor Markets in the First Age of Globalization. An Economic History of Real Wages and Market Integration (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015) 197 pp.

Richard C. Powell & Klaus Dodds, Polar Geopolitics: Knowledges, Resources and Legal Regimes (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Antarctica, Arctic, Polar law, geopoliticsRachael Lorna Johnstone

Book review of: Richard C. Powell & Klaus Dodds, Polar Geopolitics: Knowledges, Resources and Legal Regimes (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2014)

Douglas C Nord, The Arctic Council: Governance within the Far North (London: Routledge, 2016)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic, Law, governanceRachael Lorna Johnstone

Book review of: Douglas C Nord, The Arctic Council: Governance within the Far North (London: Routledge, 2016), pp 124, 140 USD (hardback); 58.80 USD (kindle ebook); ISBN: 9781138799202 (hardback); ISBN: 9781315756196 (ebook)

Peter Hough, International Politics of the Arctic: Coming in from the Cold (London: Routledge, 2015 pbk.)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Arctic studies, Polar law, international relationsRachael Lorna Johnstone

Book review of: Peter Hough, International Politics of the Arctic: Coming in from the Cold (London: Routledge, 2015 pbk.)

G.T. Svendsen, Trust – Reflections 1 & H.H. Knoop, Positive Psychology – Reflections 2 (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Nordic countries, Scandinavia, happiness, positive psychology, wellbeingSigrún Sveinbjörnsdóttir

Book review of: Svendsen, G. T., Trust. Reflections 1. (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014) & Knoop, H. H., Positive Psychology. Reflections 2. (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2014).

Matte Svart Kristiansen & Kate Giles (eds.), Dwellings, Identities and Homes. European Housing Culture from the Viking Age to the Renaissance (Hojbjerg: Jutland Archeological Society, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)ArchaeologyThomas Hoeren

Book review of: Matte Svart Kristiansen & Kate Giles (eds.), Dwellings, Identities and Homes. European Housing Culture from the Viking Age to the Renaissance (Hojbjerg: Jutland Archeological Society, 2014)

Ingvill Helland & Sören Koch (eds.), Nordic and Germanic Legal Methods (Tuebingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2014)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Germanic, Law, NordicTorben Spaak

Book review of: Ingvill Helland and Sören Koch (eds.), Nordic and Germanic Legal Methods (Tuebingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 2014), 461 pp.

Barbara Fuchs & Emily Weissbourd (eds.), Representing Imperial Rivalry in the Early Modern Mediterranean (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Lepanto, Mediterranean, Ottoman, imperialismViviana Tagliaferri

Book review of: Barbara Fuchs, Emily Weissbourd (eds.), Representing Imperial Rivalry in the Early Modern Mediterranean, (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 215), pp. 296, ISBN 9781442619272.

Kristjan Ahronson, Into the Ocean. Vikings, Irish, and Environmental Change in Iceland and the North (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Iceland, Popper, Vikings, toponomyViviana Tagliaferri

Book review of: Kristjan Ahronson, Into the Ocean. Vikings, Irish, and Environmental Change in Iceland and the North, (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2015), pp. 264, ISBN 9781442646179.

Caspar Jørgensen & Morten Pedersen (eds.), Industrial Heritage in Denmark: Landscapes, Environments and Historical Archaeology (Aarhus: Kultur Styrelsen & Aarhus University Press, 2015)

23/03/2016Book review (editorial review)Archaeology, Denmark, history, industryÞóra Pétursdóttir

Book review of: Caspar Jørgensen and Morten Pedersen (eds.), Industrial Heritage in Denmark: Landscapes, Environments and Historical Archaeology (Aarhus: Kultur Styrelsen and Aarhus University Press, 2015), 285 pp. ISBN 978 87 7124 108 2

The Invention of the Nordic Cuisine

23/03/2016Other contribution (editorial review)Babette, New Nordic Cuisine, Noma, Redzepi, ScandinaviaFrancesco Mangiapane

The article proposes an analysis of the success of the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen. In order to achieve this goal, it focuses on the viewpoint of its chef, René Redzepi and analyses the new trending culinary movement known as New Nordic Cuisine. Behind the success of the restaurant Noma, a deep reconfiguration of the Northern European culinary culture can be recognized which is not limited to food but claims for a general turnover of the entire Scandinavian identity. The article enlightens a deep connection between the story of the fictional character Babette (protagonist of both the short novel and the movie “Babette’s Feast”) and the shift led by the New Nordic Cuisine’s movement over the identity of Northern Europe. Also, it shows how this new foundation represents a contemporary attempt of “reinvention” of the tradition, being built through aesthetic and semiotic tools turned into gastronomic actions.

Mapping the Unknown – North as threshold: a meditation in three examples

23/03/2016Other contribution (editorial review)Acerbi, Baron, Canada, Gould, Mapping, North, NorthCape, Svalbard, ThresholdGianluca Pulsoni

This essay is a personal attempt at introducing a possible creative history of the idea of North. This is presented via three different examples through which notions such as those of limit and experience are thought of as preliminary phases and yet, combined together, also as something essential to better understand the sense of threshold qua notion which, as I suggest, can be used to describe and depict the North in contemporary terms.