Suchergebnisse

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo was received well internationally, but also raised a fair amount of criticism. Even if giving the peace prize to a democracy activist is more in line with Alfred Nobel's original intent than giving it to an environmentalist, Mr. Xiaobo is also undermining the Chinese stability and therefore threatening the country's internal peace. Some critics have also argued that the Nobel committee went again after a popular media personality, whose selection is not going to change the direction of a large populous country. Another problem is that the Nobel peace prize committee consists of Norwegian politicians and therefore the award is often seen as an extension of Norwegian foreign policy. L. Pitkaniemi

The article addresses the issue of indigenous agency and its influence on the contestation of indigenous rights norms in an extractive context from the perspective of organizations representing people, whose recognition as 'indigenous' is withheld by the Russian authorities. The article argues that a governance perspective and approach to recognition from 'below' provides a useful lens for comprehensively exploring strategies on norms contestation applied by these groups in the authoritarian normative context of Russia. Based on findings from a case study of Izhma-Komi organizations in the northwest Russian Arctic, the article identifies three strategies utilized by these organizations. By mobilizing inter-indigenous recognition, forging alliances with environmentalists and negotiating with an oil company, Izhma-Komi organizations have managed to extend certain rights and power previously not granted to them in an extractive context locally.