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The relationship between Greenland and the European Union (EU) can best be understood by exploring the development from Danish colonialism to a future independent Greenlandic state. In 1985, Greenland became the first territory ever to leave the European Economic Community (EEC) when it opted for status as an 'overseas country or territory'. The manner in which Greenland had to follow Denmark into the EEC in 1973 – whereby Greenlanders saw control over their fisheries move from distant Copenhagen to even-more-distant Brussels – was pivotal for the Greenlandic demands for home rule that succeeded in 1979 and made the 1985 withdrawal possible. On 25 November 2008, a majority of the people of Greenland voted in favour of enhanced home rule – 'self-government' – still within formal Danish sovereignty. Denmark and Greenland alike are preparing for a future envisioned as involving climate change, intensive raw material extraction, new transportation corridors and new claims to sovereignty over the Arctic. Greenland uses this imagined future as a way of enhancing its subjectivity, not the least when dealing with the EU. This article analyses how the Greenlandic self-understanding as being on the way to sovereignty – and the tensions involved – structures the triangular relationship between the EU, Greenland and Denmark. The article concludes that the visions of sovereign equality might, on the one hand, create greater expectations than Greenland will immediately be able to live up to – at home and in the EU. On the other hand, the representation of the Greenland–EU relationship as one of sovereign equality – present and future – might just be able to provoke the resources necessary to make the dream come true.

Research Highlights and AbstractThis articleApplies the theoretical framework of 'individualisation' to political parties and policy participation. Suggests a new model of policy development in social democratic parties where increased prominence is given to ordinary citizens and supporters. Presents illustrative case studies of new forms of policy participation, including community consultations and online forums in the UK Labour Party and the Australian Labor Party. Assesses the implications of individualisation on political parties as sites for policy-making, participation and representation.This article examines the changing nature of the connection between citizens, party members and elites in the creation of party policy through the theoretical prism of individualisation. Using qualitative case studies of recent policy-making initiatives in the Australian Labor Party and the UK Labour Party, the article develops a new model of policy transferal that is not built upon the mass-party model of parliamentary politics, but rather upon organisational evolutions such as community consultations, online participation and supporters' networks. These evolutions, or reforms, typically emphasise the individuality of policy-making and accountability, promote new technologies for facilitating decision-making, and attempt to engage with a new style of politically active citizen. Each of these developments carries implications for how political parties facilitate participation, accountability and responsiveness in modern forms of representative democracy.

Event datasets on political violence, which are comprised of coded collected news reports, have enjoyed a renaissance within the academic community. The inclusion of civilian fatalities within these datasets is a promising and welcomed advancement regarding the availability of data on one-sided violence. However, these datasets are often criticised due to their heavy reliance on media records, which may be tainted by biases. So far, little attention has been paid to the specific problems that arise in the coding procedure with respect to one-sided violence. This article addresses such difficulties by discussing particular challenges presented by media biases and by providing empirical evidence from coding one-sided violence. Furthermore, solutions and strategies are offered to the issues that could affect the coding process, including increased transparency, definition-adaptation, and the use of appropriate statistical models.