{"id":9061,"date":"2021-07-01T00:09:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T00:09:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/?p=9061"},"modified":"2021-07-03T13:14:20","modified_gmt":"2021-07-03T13:14:20","slug":"schrodingers-american-a-self-reflection-of-one-persons-role-in-icelands-nordic-and-arctic-discourse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/volume-16-no-2-2021\/new-double-blind-peer-reviewed-article-volume-16-no-2-2021\/schrodingers-american-a-self-reflection-of-one-persons-role-in-icelands-nordic-and-arctic-discourse\/","title":{"rendered":"Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American: A Self-Reflection of One Person\u2019s Role in Iceland\u2019s Nordic and Arctic Discourse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\t
\n\n\t\t<\/i><\/span> <\/a>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

It is fair for one to ask, what does that quotation have to do with International Relations (IR) theory? For me, the quotation represents a push factor that has placed me into a metaphorical crossroads. By looking at this crossroads through an IR lens, I find myself in many long-standing and contemporary IR debates:\u00a0 realism versus institutionalism, rationalism versus social constructivism, and the levels of analyses in which to apply these modes of thought. I will look at myself at three levels. The first layer will be the State in which I current reside (Iceland), which being a \u201csmall state,\u201d[1]<\/a> tends to be more institutionalist than the greater powers. Next, I will look at my role in academia both as a student and a research fellow working at the Stef\u00e1nsson Arctic Institute, which is one institution in the \u201cmosaic of cooperative arrangements emerging in the Arctic.\u201d[2]<\/a> Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I will analyze myself as an American abroad. Using the concept of \u201contological security\u201d[3]<\/a> and Foucault\u2019s definition of the individual, I will show that I am what I will coin \u201cSchr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American.\u201d My father may call himself one as well, yet living abroad (and questioning if I\u2019ll return), I believe personally amplifies the moniker.\u00a0 Section II will briefly define Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American and expound upon the words of my father to give context on how I define myself as an individual in this contribution. Section III will provide the definition of the layers of analysis chosen in order to dissect Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American, which will be divided into three subsections with each subsection analyzing the school of IR thought applicable to that layer within the Arctic.<\/p>\n

Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American:\u00a0 A Definition of the Self<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American is what I define as the state of being American, in the realist sense of acting for individual benefit as an American subject, while at the same time actively participating in institutional arrangements in other sovereign States yet still begrudgingly being a part of the American cultural hegemon. My father\u2019s words have stuck with me since our last email exchange; exchanges that have gone on for pages and years, ranging from topics as inane as college football to as serious as my career choices and his personal health. Yet despite the distance or time apart, there has always been a sense of levity, a knowing undertone of humor or even self-deprecation, when it comes to politics and the current affairs in the United States. COVID-19, and the United States\u2019 response to it, has changed his tone. As a nephrologist who works at three different clinics and prisons in southwest Georgia, he puts himself at risk every day given his age (68) and health (diabetic). In a state that President Donald Trump criticized for opening too early,[4]<\/a> my father has become disillusioned. He believes he is seeing the worst that the media, in its quest for viewership, and the populace of my town, by equating the inconvenience of social distancing measures with the current and historical oppression suffered by racial minorities, has to offer. I share his view and concern; I no longer feel the call of home as I once did.<\/p>\n

My time in Iceland is too ephemeral to be called an expat, and my feeling towards home not callous enough to call myself a political exile. I exist somewhere in the interstitial fluid of being an American who cannot go home due to COVID-related and educational reasons yet may have to go home for personal and financial ones in the near future as I am an only child, regardless of whether I want to or not. Then I remember my father\u2019s words actively telling me to stay away, and the loop of emotions (wanting to go home to make a difference and the guilt of not being there back to the happiness of being able to extract myself from all the vitriol and enjoy my sanctuary) begins all over again. I am at once American and not American; a player for which no IR theory can predict his actions. \u00a0Despite that gap in IR theory for the individual, I will attempt to do so in the following sections by breaking myself down layer by layer.<\/p>\n

The Layers of Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

The levels of analysis question has been a constant debate throughout the development of IR thought and theory. David Singer \u201cexamine[d] the theoretical implications and consequences of two of the more widely employed levels of analysis: \u00a0the international system and the national sub-systems.\u201d[5]<\/a> His focus on the two levels has been further critiqued by scholars as new modes of thought were explored. From Waltz, \u201cwho stands squarely in the Realist tradition,\u201d[6]<\/a> gives us \u201cthree distinct categories or layers of analysis:\u00a0 this individual, the state, and the international system.\u201d[7]<\/a> There are scholars who argue for even more layers of analysis. For example, Barry Zellen argues for the creation of a new taxonomy:<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world, we have persistent, organic state-level entities (POSLEs) as well as ephemeral, and synthetic state-level entities (ESSLEs), some which are nation-states but others which are multi-ethnic states, the former widely perceived to be more enduring over time than the latter. We also have tribes, sects, and clans, some that reside within states, some between and across state boundaries (thereby creating fault lines for future inter- and intra-state conflicts), and those which have survived into the contemporary era are the POSSEs, so-named for their endurance. And now, with the proliferation ofnetworks and digital communications systems, we have neo-tribal entities which could, in time, evolveinto persistent and organic units of world politics, much like more traditional clans, sects and tribes. Indeed, organized crime networks and other illicit trade networks show many parallels with POSSEs, and could in time join their ranks.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

This new taxonomy redefines the traditional layers of analysis as used by Singer and Waltz in order to encompass layers not considered by them, such as tribes that are interwoven into the fabric of the United States and Canada and with whom they have a complicated history and various current levels of co-management schemes.<\/p>\n

My choice of three layers is a hybrid of both the Waltzian and Zellen perspective. I choose to redefine the concept of the individual from Waltz, yet add it into the taxonomy of Zellen. Waltz\u2019 definition of the individual is problematic given that his three layers are viewed through the \u201cnotion [as] the causes of war\u201d[9]<\/a> rather than curators of a Kantian peace.[10]<\/a> I place this altered definition, one who is attempting to curate the Kantian peace, of the individual into \u201cthe Ethereal dimension [of Zellen] . . . [as] [i]t is one that exists in the mind and heart, such as the world\u2019s religions.\u201d[11]<\/a>\u00a0 While my perspective on the self is not religious in nature, it is more attached to the Foucault vision of the self and can be considered as to what exists currently in my heart and mind. Furthermore, the addition of my current role in academia shifts towards the mode of thought of Oran Young as an institutionalist rather than that of the realist Waltz when looking at the international system layer.<\/p>\n

Layer One:\u00a0 The State of Iceland<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Iceland plays a unique role within the theory of international relations. It has found itself in a geographically advantageous region, an Arctic state between Europe and North America, yet does not have aspects of normal Westphalian state, such as a standing army. As \u201c[a] small state with limited resources, [Iceland] cannot afford to just observe such first-order threats . . . Like any modern polity, it needs to be aware of all the different aspects of security \u2013 military, political, economic or functional \u2013 that are crucial for its survival. Since it can rarely find the answers on its own, and its limited internal market also makes its prosperity highly dependent on outside relations, it needs a conscious national strategy to find the external support (or \u2018shelter\u2019) and the openings required at the most reasonable price.\u201d[12]<\/a> Iceland acts both in an institutional capacity in some regards but cannot be denied that it has acted under the realist school of thought when it comes to certain issues, such as fisheries and maritime boundaries.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n

For hard security issues, Iceland has been reliant on the United States and NATO strategic cover,[14]<\/a> making it more reliant on institutions, yet with the current Icelandic government not wishing to have the United States back on its sovereign soil,[15]<\/a> Iceland has rejected being a NATO \u201cvassal\u201d and sees itself as a thought leader for bridging East-West dialogue, especially with its Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2019-2021 with it\u2019s motto \u201cTogether<\/em> towards a sustainable Arctic.\u201d[16]<\/a> By being Euro-sceptic, yet still being in the EEA and Schengen Zone, Iceland has walked the tight rope of being a Western ally, yet not committing fully enough to bother other regional and world powers such as the Russian Federation and China. The former is an important trade partner while the latter has been a large investor in new shipping infrastructure projects. For example, Iceland \u201cadvocates cooperation with BRICs and other Asian powers for diversifying Iceland\u2019s trade relations, investment sources and economic base. Iceland has not only supported several nations\u2019 wishes to become AC observers, but was one of the first OECD states to conclude a Free Trade Agreement with China, and recently gave one seabed exploration licence to a part Chinese consortium.\u201d[17]<\/a><\/p>\n

In further support of its institutionalist approach, \u201cIceland also participates with Norway, Russia and all EU members in the EU\u2019s \u2018Northern Dimension\u2019 program, which offers funding for joint development projects and addresses the High North through the \u2018Arctic window\u2019 scheme.[18]<\/a> As a founder-member of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, Iceland supports that organization\u2019s efforts to stabilize relations and promote development across the land borders of Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Significantly more active, however, is Iceland\u2019s diplomacy within the Nordic Cooperation framework, comprising the Parliamentary Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), and its West Nordic sub-group.\u201d[19]<\/a><\/p>\n

Iceland is not only a pivot point for realism versus institutionalism, the creation of small state studies has led to a new discourse of which Iceland is a prominent member:<\/p>\n

The changes in IR theory that came with the end of the \u2018bipolar freeze\u2019 (and, in some cases, the rise of nationalism) \u2013 in particular social constructivism with its focus on international norms, identity and ideas \u2013 may have eased the opening of the field of small state studies again in the 1990s. If not only relative power and\/or international institutions matter, but also ideational factors, small states may gain new rooms of maneuver in their foreign policy. They may, for instance, be able to play the role of norm entrepreneurs influencing world politics they may not only engage in bargaining with the other (greater) powers, but also argue with them, pursue framing and discursive politics, and socially construct new, more favorable identities in their relationships.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n

A summary of Iceland\u2019s IR debates as a small state is covered in Table 1 below:[21]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My opinion is that Iceland falls under the social constructivist view even though it is more of a meta-theory than a theory in and of itself. Social constructivists \u201cview cooperation as a result of social interaction and collective identity formation, not inter-state or intergovernmental bargaining. They do not accept the idea that the interests of states are fixed and independent of social structures. It is this basic assumption that makes room for the introduction of other mechanisms for understanding international cooperation.\u201d[22]<\/a> This can be seen in the changing concept of Iceland to the European Union; in 2013, the government in power wanted to join yet the current administration is Euro-sceptic.[23]<\/a> Rather than the bargaining of governments, Iceland chooses not to enter into intergovernmental bargaining and has begun taking actions based on social structures. An example of acting through identity is its move to \u201cNordicness.\u201d At present, \u201cIceland\u2019s foreign policy is, to a greater extent, constructed by the Nordic environment, with its shared culture and institutions, than during the Cold War. Nordicness has never been more important to Iceland\u2019s foreign policy in terms of increased security and defence cooperation between the Nordic states.\u201d[24]<\/a> This is due to \u201cthe end of the Cold War, the departure of the US military from Iceland, and the US government\u2019s refusal to provide Iceland with a rescue package during the 2008 economic crash have transformed the impact of the Nordic environment on Iceland\u2019s foreign policy. Accordingly, the culturally dense Nordic environment is having more impact on Iceland\u2019s foreign policy and Iceland is moving higher on the continuum the degree of construction of the units by the environment in the security cultures model.\u201d[25]<\/a> By progressing towards a collective identity of Nordicness, we see Iceland slowly moving away from rationalist thought and the European Union towards other Scandinavian countries that balance foreign relations between both East and West, such as Norway and Finland.<\/p>\n

Layer Two: My Role in Academia<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The layers of analysis are not mutually exclusive of one another but rather may contradict or complement one another in an attempt to be complicit with or rebel against the actions of a larger entity. We see the complementary aspect of my work at the Stef\u00e1nsson Arctic Institute and my role at the University of Akureyri contribute to the institutionalist route that Iceland seems to prefer. For example, my office borders the offices of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, one of the six working groups of the Arctic Council, the premier multilateral forum for Arctic discourse, and one in which Iceland views itself as a current thought leader given its possession of the Chairmanship.<\/p>\n

Education has been a key institution through which Iceland has enhanced its Arctic viewpoint. \u201cWhen identifying key actors within Iceland\u2019s Arctic initiatives one cannot exclude academia. Iceland has had a strong presence in the EU\u2019s and other international organisations\u2019 scientific and educational networks. Akureyri University . . . runs an International Polar Law LLM and MA programmes, and regularly hosts international Arctic conferences.\u201d[26]<\/a> Part of my work at the Stef\u00e1nsson Arctic Institute will be in its JustNorth program, which is based off an IR perspective of Mark Nuttall. Part of the program states \u201cthere has been a marked policy move towards promoting mining as a major industry, including with the Greenlandic parliament voting to repeal Greenland\u2019s zero-tolerance policy on uranium mining. While resource development in Greenland represents a potential key source of income, the process of resource exploitation also raises the question of how to ensure that gains from resource development accrue to the people of Greenland.\u201d[27]<\/a> This research was inspired by Mark Nuttall and his own exploration of a realist versus institutionalist Greenland given the rising mining sector.[28]<\/a> Thus through an Icelandic institution, I\u2019ll be furthering the independence dialogue of a West Nordic sub-national entity of the Kingdom of Denmark. I\u2019ll be continuing this Icelandic institution pursuit by teaching in the University of Iceland\u2019s Arctic Studies\u2019 Graduate Diploma program as a PhD Candidate in Political Science.<\/p>\n

This institutionalist approach to realize goals that are generally thought of in the school of realism stands in for the complexities of Arctic governance \u201cwhere social institutions rest on ideas, even when they have been around so long that it is difficult to ascertain the origins of the relevant ideas and trace the pathways through which they became influential. To my way of thinking, a research program that can profit from the insights of alternative schools of thought rather than becoming enmeshed in the sectarian battles among them has much to recommend it.\u201d[29]<\/a> The Stef\u00e1nsson Institute is that type of body. Detached from sectarian, ideological disputes, it goes about its work unintentionally reinforcing Iceland\u2019s institutionalist framework but with realist end goals of a possible independent Greenland, yet at the same time contributing to certain constructivist arguments by exploring what individuals want within Greenland and thus identifying social norms.<\/p>\n

Layer Three:\u00a0 The Individual<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This layer has been somewhat defined in Section II of the contribution, yet needs meat added to the bone so to speak. As stated above I place myself in the ethereal dimension as laid out in Zellen where we look at what is in the heart and mind of subjects, yet those ideas seem to be conflicting with my current identity as American citizen. Zellen does not explicitly analyze the individual as Waltz does, yet placing the concept of the individual or subject into Zellen\u2019s taxonomy makes logical sense. For Foucault, \u201csubject is an entity which is capable of choosing how to act within the constraints of the given historical and cultural context. Foucault makes the distinction between the subject and the individual. The individual is transformed into the subject and the transformations take place as a result of outside events and actions undertaken by the individual; different forms of power relations makes individuals subjects. Foucault himself proposes in his essay The Subject and Power (1982) two meanings of the word \u2018subject:\u2019 subject to someone else by control and dependence; and tied to his own identity by a conscience or self-knowledge. Both meanings suggest a form of power which subjugates and makes subject to.\u201d[30]<\/a><\/p>\n

Through my actions as an individual, I have been transformed into the two various definitions of the subject as defined by Foucault. First, I am a subject of Iceland based on my dependence of financial support and residence here and control by being subject to their laws, yet I am an American subject based on my own self-knowledge. These two seem reconcilable until we look at the \u201cform of power.\u201d The form of power for me being an Icelandic subject is the willingness to follow the laws and choosing to be here despite COVID-related issues; however, my being an American subject stems from the cultural hegemony of America and the lasting impact it has created. In a sense this goes back to the German realist Morgenthau in which there is a \u201cconstant struggle for power\u201d[31]<\/a> and \u201cthat there was no harmony of interest among nations, that national objectives would be governed, as they always had been, by the dictates of self-interest.\u201d[32]<\/a> America continues to have a form of power, one of culture, rather than what Morgenthau sees as hard power, over its subject. This cultural hegemony is hard to overcome and has become a label, or even a stigma, in many arenas. Iceland does not have this same cultural power; thus, my two concepts subject under Foucault, one willing and unwilling, are imbalanced powers with the unwilling power dynamic being stronger. This instills what I call the Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s American; in one sense I am and will always be American even if I actively involve myself in institutions that may not work for the benefit of America.<\/p>\n

Is there a solution for this dilemma? I take comfort in the fact that my father finds that American exceptionalism is dead, yet that has become a matter of politics, which is outside the scope of this paper. I do also take comfort that I may be caught up in Iceland\u2019s nascent search for \u201contological security.\u201d Under this rubric \u201cstates also engage in ontological security-seeking. Like the state\u2019s need for physical security, the need for ontological security is extrapolated from the individual level. Ontological security refers to the need to experience oneself as a whole, continuous person in time \u2014 as being rather than constantly changing \u2014 in order to realize a sense of agency.\u201d[33]<\/a> While I only may be one individual, I found Iceland in a time of national ascent both from an extant, international point of view as the Arctic has become ascendant in geopolitics by other countries and at the latent, national level, given that Iceland is actively promoting its role within that space through domestic strategies and the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. \u201cImportantly, for theorists of ontological security individual identity is formed and sustained through relationships. Actors therefore achieve ontological security especially by routinizing their relations with significant others. Then, since continued agency requires the cognitive certainty these routines provide, actors get attached to these social relationships.\u201d[34]<\/a> My time in Iceland has not been long enough and have not developed the certainty of routines, although I do have them. By continuing these routines, I will achieve deeper social relationships and thus provide ontological security not only to myself in the form of human security\/development but provide it to the State as well. In conclusion, it is hopefully only a matter of time before the crisis resolves itself.<\/p>\n

Conclusion <\/strong><\/p>\n

In this piece I have analyzed myself within on three different layers:\u00a0 the state, my work that contributes to the international system as well as the state, and the individual. At the state level, I find Iceland to be institutionalist rather than in the school of realism. Furthermore, Iceland, as a small state, has taken up the ideas of social constructivism by embracing its cultural identity of Nordicness in recent years after the United States withdrew from the base in Keflavik and did not provide financial support in 2008 during the financial crisis. In the second layer, I find myself contributing to institutionalist regimes, or as what Oran Young would call Regime Theory, yet going through these institutions may contribute to goals that some would define as realist; however, it is true that these schools are not mutually exclusive and may be used to complement one another. Finally, at the individual level, I find myself at an existential crossroads; torn between the power dynamics of an American hegemon and a small state with more limited capabilities which has made me subjects of two different state polities.<\/p>\n

While this crisis is defined philosophically via Foucault, my crisis can be seen through the lens of international relations given that I am attempting to place myself within the ontological security paradigm of a state that is relatively new to the international scene. It is the powerful hegemon of the United States that continues to control my conscience and self-knowledge, yet my routines and social relationships will continue to develop in Iceland. As those social connections become more secure, my own ontological and human security will follow (both to myself and to the State), and I may be able to resolve my inner turmoil. I am a student of the Arctic, and I wish to continue to live in the Arctic. In doing so, I will have to overcome biases of culture that have been imprinted. It is a tough path to follow, but one I am excited to walk along.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> See generally<\/em> Knudsen, Olav Fagelund, \u201cSmall States, Latent and Extant: \u00a0Towards a General Perspective,\u201d Semantic Scholar, (2002), available at <\/em>https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/%3E-Small-States-%2C-Latent-and-Extant-%3A-Towards-a-Knudsen\/a2852b2275ecb4b4bf9bcd2befb29f47f390f9b3<\/a> (Last accessed May 22, 2020).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Young, Oran, \u201cGoverning the Arctic:\u00a0 From Cold War Theater to Mosaic of Cooperation,\u201d Global Governance, Vol. 11, at pg. 9 (2005).<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> See generally,<\/em> Steele, Brent J., Ontological Security in International Relations:\u00a0 Self-identity and the IR State, (Routledge:\u00a0 New York and London) (2005).<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> See<\/em> Zeleny, Jeff, \u201cTrump\u2019s Angry Words to Georgia Governor Reverberate in State Capitals as Governors Move to Reopen States,\u201d CNN Politics, (Apr. 27, 2020), available at <\/em>https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2020\/04\/27\/politics\/trump-kemp-georgia-governors-reopen\/index.html<\/a> (Last accessed May 22, 2020).<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Singer, David J., \u201cThe Level-of-Analysis Problem in International Relations,\u201d World Politics, Vol. 14, No. 1, at pg. 78 (Oct. 1961).<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Mearshimer, John J., \u201cA Tribute to Kenneth Waltz,\u201d Zu Diesem Buch, at pg. 11 (no date given).<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Zellen, Barry, \u201cTribe, State, and War Balancing the Subcomponents of World Order,\u201d Culture and Conflict Review, Vol. 3, No. 3, at pg. 2 (Fall 2009).<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Mearshimer, John J., note 7 supra<\/em>, at id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> See generally<\/em>, Oneal, John R., & Russett, Bruce, \u201cThe Kantian Peace:\u00a0 The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885-1992,\u201d World Politics, Vol. 52, No. 1, pp. 1-37, (Oct. 1999), available at <\/em>https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/world-politics\/article\/kantian-peace-the-pacific-benefits-of-democracy-interdependence-and-international-organizations-18851992\/0BBD01FABBCAC18888792829960BEDD6<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Zellen, note 9 supra<\/em>, at id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Bailes, Alyson, et al., \u201cIceland:\u00a0 Small but Central,\u201d in Perceptions and Strategies of Arcticness in sub-Arctic Europe, at pg. 77, (Eds. Andris Spr\u00fcds and Toms Rostoks) (Latvian Institute of International Affairs:\u00a0 Latvia), (Jan. 2013), available at <\/em>https:\/\/www.kas.de\/c\/document_library\/get_file?uuid=e861e1f4-bc1f-0c38-efdd-be81f6aeda16&groupId=252038<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> See generally<\/em>, Fisheries Jurisdiction (United Kingdom v. Iceland), Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 3., available at <\/em>https:\/\/www.icj-cij.org\/files\/case-related\/55\/055-19740725-JUD-01-00-EN.pdf<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> See id.<\/em> at pg. 78.<\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> See <\/em>\u00d3skarsson, \u00d3mar, \u201cLeft-Greens Reject NATO Project in Helguv\u00edk Harbor,\u201d Iceland Monitor, (May 14, 2020), available at <\/em>https:\/\/icelandmonitor.mbl.is\/news\/politics_and_society\/2020\/05\/14\/left_greens_reject_nato_project_in_helguvik_harbor\/<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> The Arctic Council, \u201cIcelandic Chairmanship,\u201d The Arctic Council, available at <\/em>https:\/\/arctic-council.org\/en\/about\/chairmanship\/<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020) (emphasis added).<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Bailes, note 13 supra<\/em>, at pg. 85.<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> The term \u201cArctic window\u201d is a term of art used within the EU Horizon scheme, and its definition and practicality are outside the scope of this paper.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> Id. <\/em>at pg. 84.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a> Neumann, Iver B., & Gst\u00f6hl, Sieglinde, \u201cLilliputians in Gulliver\u2019s World?\u00a0 Small States in International Relations,\u201d Centre for Small State Studies, (Working Paper 1-2004), at pg. 12, (May 2004), available at <\/em>http:\/\/ams.hi.is\/wp-content\/uploads\/old\/Lilliputians%20Endanlegt%202004.pdf<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a> See id. <\/em>at pg. 13.<\/p>\n

[22]<\/a> Rieker, Pernille, \u201cEU Security Policy:\u00a0 Contrasting Rationalism and Social Constructivism,\u201d Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, at pg. 6 (2004), available at <\/em>https:\/\/nupi.brage.unit.no\/nupi-xmlui\/bitstream\/handle\/11250\/2394641\/WP_nr659_04_Rieker.pdf?sequence=3<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[23]<\/a> See <\/em>Bailes, note 13 supra<\/em>, at pp. 80-81.<\/p>\n

[24]<\/a> Thorhallsson, Baldur, \u201cNordicness as a Shelter:\u00a0 The Case of Iceland,\u201d Global Affairs, at pg. 11 (Sept. 24, 2018), available at <\/em>https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/23340460.2018.1522507<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[25]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[26]<\/a> Bailes, note 13 supra<\/em>, at pg. 86.<\/p>\n

[27]<\/a> Personal communication with Joan Nymand Larsen, \u201cDescription of JustNorth Project,\u201d electronic mail (Jan. 31, 2020) (on file with author) (citing Nuttall note 29 infra<\/em>).<\/p>\n

[28]<\/a> See <\/em>Nuttall, Mark, \u201cZero-Tolerance, Uranium and Greenland\u2019s Mining Future,\u201d Polar Journal, Vol. 3, pp. 368-83 (2013).<\/p>\n

[29]<\/a> Young, Oran, \u201cRegime Theory Thirty Years On:\u00a0 Taking Stock, Moving Forward, International Organization, at pg. 4 (Sept. 18, 2012).<\/p>\n

[30]<\/a> Campbell-Thomson, Olga, \u201cFoucault, Technologies of the Self and National Identity,\u201d Working Paper presented at the British Educational research Association Annual Conference, at pg. 3, (London, United Kingdom) (Sept. 6-8 2011), available at <\/em>http:\/\/www.leeds.ac.uk\/educol\/documents\/204173.pdf<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[31]<\/a> Rosecrance, Richard, \u201cThe One World of Hans Morgenthau,\u201d Social Research, Vol. 48, No. 4, at pg. 750 (Winter 1981).<\/p>\n

[32]<\/a> Id.<\/em> at pg. 751.<\/p>\n

[33]<\/a> Mitzen, Jennifer, \u201cOntological Security in World Politics:\u00a0 State Identity and the Security Dilemma,\u201d European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 12, No. 3, at pg. 342 (2006), available at <\/em>https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/1354066106067346<\/a> (Last accessed May 24, 2020).<\/p>\n

[34]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introspection and personal story-telling has often been used outside of academia in order to foster dialogue between cultures and peoples. However, this device is rarely used within academia in order to foster debate about cultures, regions, and locales. Through my own personal story, the article brings up questions of belonging within a region that has increasingly come under the microscope. The Arctic has many such stakeholders whose status remains unsolidified or questioned. While my story does not have such questions of legal status, it reflects the insecurity that many feel within a region that has only recently become the focus of colonial hegemony and internationally organized governance. While my positions myself within the region, it is the goal that this paper may inspire others to do the same in order to find common ground upon which we can help connect one another in a region so physically dispersed yet culturally connected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":608,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1926],"tags":[239,2110,2111,2103,2112,2109],"coauthors":[2042],"class_list":["post-9061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-double-blind-peer-reviewed-article-volume-16-no-2-2021","tag-arctic","tag-belonging","tag-dissociation","tag-ir","tag-personal-place","tag-storytelling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/608"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9061"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9363,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9061\/revisions\/9363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9061"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nome.unak.is\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}