The Minamata Convention, which entered into force on 16 August 2017, is a global, legally binding instrument on mercury. The initiative on the Minamata Convention was mainly driven by research showing negative effects on human health and the environment in the Arctic. The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation on Arctic issues, and its Working Group, AMAP, played an important role in the process leading up to international negotiations on the Minamata Convention. This paper elucidates the evolutionary process in which scientific knowledge, herded by an intergovernmental, regional forum, is involved and forms the basis for a legally binding agreement. The paper provides new insight on multilevel governance of the mercury issue and unravels the role that AMAP has played in this dynamic process.
This thesis deals on integration of ASEAN. The primary objective of this thesis is to find out the potential of ASEAN to be politically and economically integrated like EU, and the kind of difficulties it may face in a mid way. Since EU is a pioneer and benchmark for any integration and ASEAN takes EU as a reference, I choose EU as a base to compare the progress of ASEAN. As for the theoretical aspect, integration theory and its importance in global scenario is discussed. The research sought after the way ahead for ASEAN. This study is based on a comparative analysis of the development of both EU and ASEAN. The information and literature needed for the thesis will be collected from open source, which is easily accessible to all. After analyzing the historical background, present development and future prospect, I think ASEAN is turning out to be the successful regional cooperation. Even though ASEAN took reference from EU in its development, It don´t need to be like EU. Being the cooperation from different group of differently diversified nations, It can pave its own way forward and can lay good precedent for other upcoming regional co-operations. ; M-IR
Rapid climate change in the Arctic triggers the remobilization of chemical pollution, increasing its exposure and potential impacts in the region. While scientific knowledge on multiple stressors, including the interlinkages between climate change and hazardous chemicals, is increasing, it has proven challenging to translate this knowledge into policy. This study analyzes the process of translating Arctic scientific knowledge on multiple stressors into global policy by focusing on the development of a guidance document under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Through document analysis and key informant interviews, we focus particularly on the role of the Arctic Council working group AMAP in synthesizing, translating and communicating science on multiple stressors to policy makers. We draw on the theoretical framework of formalization (how and by whom knowledge is summarized for policy) and separation (the relative distance between science and policy) to analyze the science-to-policy interface. Our analysis of the phases leading up to the guidance document show that AMAP has dynamically moved between different degrees of separation and formalization. Orchestrating the interplay between scientists and policy makers, the working group has put multiple stressors on the political agenda internationally. AMAP has thereby contributed to turn Arctic science into global policy through the guidance document. We conclude by illustrating several constraints in terms of the implementation of actual policy, which we argue is due to an increasing degree of formalization in the last phase and a general unreadiness of contemporary governance systems to address multiple stressors.
The Arctic region has attracted the interest of Arctic and non-Arctic states, as well as non-state actors, for decades. Corresponding with the growing attraction towards the region, the number of conferences attending to Arctic issues has expanded. This article provides an historical mapping of the Arctic conference sphere, and demonstrates how the establishment of Arctic conferences has both paralleled central events in Arctic affairs and can be linked to important international developments. Firstly, there is a notable peak conforming with the "second state change" in 2005, brought about by developments opening the Arctic to global concerns: the impacts of climate change and the spread of the socio-economic effects from globalization to the Arctic. Secondly, the expanding number of conferences around 2013 can be seen in relation to the growing interest in the region from non-Arctic states. As such, this article builds the argument for conferences as a central element within the Arctic governance architecture, creating linkages among units in the regime complex. The article devotes particular attention towards the two largest international conferences on Arctic issues – Arctic Frontiers and Arctic Circle Assembly – to illustrate how the necessity for hybrid policy-science-business conferences arose from a more complex governance system, and challenges requiring cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary, and international collaboration.
This article examines current Russian expert and official narratives on the Arctic, situating them in the broader context of the debate on Russia's role in the international system. Combining a critical geopolitics approach to the study of international relations with content analysis tools, we map how structural geopolitical changes in the wider region have shaped narratives on the Arctic in Russia today. Two types of Russian narratives on the Arctic are explored—the one put forward by members of the Russian expert community, and the one that emerges from official documents and statements by members of the Russian policymaking community. With the expert narratives, we pay particular attention to the Arctic topics featured and how they are informed by various mainstream approaches to the study of international relations (IR). In examining policy practitioners' narrative approaches, we trace the overlaps and differences between these and the expert narratives. Current expert and official Russian narratives on the Arctic appear to be influenced mostly by neorealist and neoliberal ideas in IR, without substantial modifications after the 2014 conflict, thus showing relatively high ideational continuity.
This article deals with the duty to consult indigenous peoples and the obligation to involve these peoples in decision-making processes in matters that concern them. After a general review of international legislation and obligations, particularly the ILO Convention no. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the article focuses on how these obligations are implemented towards the indigenous Sámi in Norwegian law. Here, the consultation agreement from 2005 and the Sámi Rights Committee's 2007 draft are still central. The review includes an analysis of the extent to which these duties meet international law requirements, and a deliberation on the concept of free, prior and informed consent.
Naval blockade is an old form of warfare where the current restatement of customary international law on this issue – the 1994 San Remo Manual – leaves something to be desired. The article considers the history of the concept and its current regulation like the requirements for establishing a naval blockade and addresses also issues in relation to its enforcement.
For a long time, the Arctic has been regarded as a stable region with low tension. However, even though low tension prevails, it is a fact that the circumpolar region also encompasses some of the world's most capable and potent military capabilities. The key role of the Arctic regarding security issues, international relations and geopolitics, is sometimes underplayed or not fully understood. These aspects of security are investigated in this thematic issue of Arctic Review on Law and Politics.
The services for people with addiction and mental health problems and have received increasing attention, both in the public debate, among users and professionals and not least from political authorities. There is political agreement on the importance of prioritizing the field, when at the same time there is disagreement on whether the services will actually be better by present-day reforms.
In National Policies and Local Challenges, the authors explore the organization of services for people with addiction and mental health illness, from initiatives to improve the services at the level of national government to implementing changes in local service provision by municipalities. We discuss one of the most challenging questions in the modern welfare state: How should services be organized so that both users and service providers experience them as coordinated and integrated? The authors address these issues by referring to key features of national policy and change processes that can be observed in a selection of municipalities. The book also refers to analyses of experiences with various measures and services related to work, housing and prison care and correctional services.
The anthology is based on a research project that studies the coordination and integration of services for people with complex addiction and mental disorders. The book is based on political science and organizational theoretical perspectives, and aims to provide insight into the usefulness of such perspectives in the analysis of welfare state's challenges when complex needs are addressed. The target group for the book is researchers, students and employees in local government – as well as practitioners who work with users with complex and complex needs.
The book is edited by Catharina Bjørkquist, professor at Østfold University College, and Helge Ramsdal, professor emeritus at Østfold University College. - Tjenestene til personer med psykiske lidelser og ruslidelser har fått stadig større oppmerksomhet, både i den offentlige debatten, blant brukere og fagfolk og ikke minst fra politiske myndigheter. Det er stor politisk enighet om betydningen av å prioritere feltet, samtidig som det er uenighet om hvorvidt tjenestene faktisk blir bedre.
I Statlig politikk og lokale utfordringer ser forfatterne på organisering av tjenestene til mennesker med samtidige ruslidelser og psykiske lidelser, fra de politiske føringene sentralt til kommunale tjenester lokalt. Spørsmålet som stilles er et av de mest utfordrende i den moderne velferdsstaten: Hvordan skal en organisere tiltak og tjenester slik at både brukere og tjenesteytere opplever dem som samordnet og integrerte? Forfatterne diskuterer dette gjennom å vise til sentrale trekk ved den nasjonale politikken, de endringsprosessene en kan observere i et utvalg kommuner og erfaringer med ulike tiltak og tjenester knyttet til arbeid, bolig og kriminalomsorg.
Antologien har sitt utgangspunkt i et forskningsprosjekt som studerer samordning og integrering av tjenester til mennesker med sammensatte rus- og psykiske lidelser. Boka bygger på statsvitenskapelige og organisasjonsteoretiske perspektiver, og har som mål å gi innsikt i nytten av slike perspektiver i analysen av velferdsstatens utfordringer. Målgruppa for boka er forskere, studenter og ansatte i lokal forvaltning – samt tjenesteutøvere som jobber med brukere med sammensatte og komplekse behov.
Handbook on Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic: The High North Between Cooperation and Confrontation, edited by Joachim Weber, is part of the Springer series Frontiers in International Relations. Published in 2020, the anthology comes at a turbulent time in Arctic geopolitics, when the traditional supremacy of the Arctic littoral states has started to be challenged by lurking interests of non-Arctic stakeholders, and global anthropogenic challenges, such as climate change, keep raising questions as to the future of security and geopolitical balance in the region. The handbook comprises a compelling read with diverse areas of discussion that give an insightful exploration of the most pressing issues relevant to Arctic geopolitics. The multidisciplinarity of approaches employed in this volume and the variety of relevant topics covered have the potential to mark a turning point in international scholarship on geopolitical studies.
"Prison has always been an attractive object for study in the field of sociology. Few other areas of modern society demonstrate social reality's fundamental ideas so clearly and obviously than prison. Social deviance and stigma, ostracism and integration, control and discipline, power and inequality are all examples of key sociological concepts that are crystalized in daily life in a prison environment.
Fengslende sosiologi. Makt, straff og identitet i Trondheims fengsler (Captivating Sociology. Power, Punishment and Identity in Trondheim's Prisons) presents twelve scholarly, peer-reviewed chapters that explore various aspects of prison as a social phenomenon, both as a part of and an expression of society.
The majority of the contributions build on empirical studies at maximum and minimum-security prisons in Trondheim, but the analyses have a broader relevance – both empirically and theoretically – for our understanding of power, punishment and identity in Norwegian penal institutions. Most of the contributors are associated with the Department of Sociology and Political Science at NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and the department's project 'Fengslende sosiologi' ('Captivating Sociology'). Several of the texts are by former master's students in sociology and present further analyses based on their master's projects.
This anthology will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in the field as well as students and others interested in prison as a social institution and penal institutions in general." - "I sosiologien har fengselet alltid vært et attraktivt studieobjekt. Her demonstreres den sosiale virkelighetens grunnleggende begreper så klart og tydelig som få andre steder i det moderne samfunnet. Sosiale avvik og stigma, utstøting og integrering, kontroll og disiplin, makt og ulikhet er alle eksempler på sosiologiske nøkkelbegreper som krystalliseres i fengselets hverdagsliv.
I antologien Fengslende sosiologi. Makt, straff og identitet i Trondheims fengsler presenteres i alt tolv vitenskapelige, fagfellevurderte kapitler som diskuterer ulike sider ved fengselet som sosialt fenomen, både som en del av og som et uttrykk for samfunnet
De fleste bidragene bygger på empiriske studier ved høy- og lavsikkerhetsfengslene i Trondheim, men analysene har bredere relevans – både empirisk og teoretisk – for forståelsen av makt, straff og identitet i de norske strafferettsinstitusjonene. De fleste forfatterne er tilknyttet Institutt for sosiologi og statsvitenskap ved Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet (NTNU) og instituttets prosjekt «Fengslende sosiologi». Flere av tekstene er skrevet av tidligere masterstudenter i sosiologi og presenterer bearbeidede analyser fra deres masterprosjekter.
Målgruppen for antologien er forskere, utøvere i praksisfeltet, studenter og andre med interesse for fengselet som sosial institusjon og strafferettsinstitusjonene mer allment."
On 1 April 2020, the Latvian fishing company SIA North Star and its owner Peteris Pildegovics initiated an investor-State arbitration against Norway (Peteris Pildegovics and SIA North Star v. Kingdom of Norway) at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). This case is not only Norway's first ever ICSID case, but also the first publicly known investor-State arbitration in which an operator of a fishing vessel has brought a claim against a coastal State for allegedly unlawful exercise of prescriptive and enforcement jurisdiction in relation to fisheries. The case raises intricate questions concerning the limits of jurisdiction ratione materiae and jurisdiction ratione personae of investment tribunals.
Society's use and management of water relies on professional expertise spanning diverse fields: from biology and technology to economics and law. This book examines current issues related to regulating water through chapters summarizing various sets of regulation as well as chapters that take a scientific deep dive into selected themes. The diversity of professional expertise is also reflected in the law aspect. We explore such subjects as surface runoff, natural disasters, drinking water, groundwater, salmon, hydropower, and human rights, as well as general impact assessment requirements and duty of knowledge in environmental law administration. A key objective of the book has been to provide an interdisciplinary understanding of the legal circumstances associated with water, and in addition, deliberate the pros and cons of some of the current regulations.
This book will be particularly useful for those who in various ways support and facilitate procedures within the public sector at both the national and municipal levels. It will also be useful for private sector actors seeking familiarity with legal questions that can arise in relation to public administration and other private actors. From a broader perspective, we hope the book can help to throw light on conflicts between different interests and groups within society that occur, for example, when introducing fees, special injunctions against private actors, and requirements for knowledge basis.
This book project is the result of legal research conducted at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and is supplemented by national expertise in several areas. It has been edited by Steinar Taubøll, a professor at NMBU's Department of Property and Law. Taubøll has a background in both law and the natural sciences, and extensive experience with interdisciplinary work. - Håndtering og bruk av vann i samfunnet krever et faglig mangfold fra biologi og teknikk til økonomi og juss. Denne boken drøfter aktuelle temaer knyttet til rettslig regulering av vann, både i form av oversiktskapitler om ulike regelsett og gjennom vitenskapelige dypdykk i utvalgte temaer. Den faglige spennvidden gjenspeiler seg også innen det juridiske. I boken finner man stoff om overvannshåndtering, naturfare, drikkevann, grunnvann, villaks, kraftutbygging, menneskerettigheter, samt om generelle utredningskrav og kunnskapsplikter i miljørettsforvaltning. Et sentralt siktemål er å bygge opp tverrfaglig forståelse av gjeldende juridiske forhold knyttet til vann, og dessuten sette noen av dagens reguleringer under debatt.
Boken retter seg særlig til de ressurspersonene som på ulike måter støtter saksbehandlingen i stat og kommune. Boken antas også å være nyttig for private aktører som vil gjøre seg mer kjent med rettsspørsmål som kan oppstå i forhold til forvaltningen og til andre private aktører. I et bredere perspektiv er det dessuten ønskelig at boken kan bidra til å belyse konflikter mellom ulike hensyn og grupper i samfunnet, for eksempel ved innføring av gebyrer, pålegg rettet mot private, innføring av tyngende vilkår og krav til kunnskap og faktagrunnlag.
Bokprosjektet springer ut av den juridiske forskningen ved Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet, og har i tillegg knyttet til seg nasjonal spisskompetanse på mange temaer.
Bokas redaktør er dosent Steinar Taubøll ved Institutt for eiendom og juss ved NMBU, som har naturfaglig og juridisk utdannelse, samt lang erfaring med tverrfaglig arbeid.
The article discusses China's policies in and towards the Arctic and Africa within a comparative perspective. To what extent is China's policy adaptable to different conditions? What does this adaptability tell us about China's ascendant great-power role in the world in general? What is the message to the Arctic and Africa respectively? The article concludes that China's regional strategies aptly reflect the overall grand strategy of a country that is slowly but surely aiming at taking on the role of leading global superpower. In doing so, Chinese foreign policy has demonstrated flexibility and adaptive tactics, through a careful tailoring of its so-called core interests and foreign policy principles, and even identity politics, to regional conditions. This implies that regions seeking autonomy in the context of great power activism and contestation should develop their own strategies not only for benefiting from Chinese investment but also in terms of managing dependency on China and in relation to China and great power competition.
