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The Swedish Sami Parliament is both a representative body elected by the Indigenous Sami people and a government agency under the Swedish state. Since its inception, this construction has been critiqued by the Sami people and Swedish governmental commissions alike: the Sami Parliaments dual roles are seen to be in fundamental conflict with one another. This article provides the first empirical study of the political and practical consequences of these conflicting roles. Using in-depth interviews with politicians and civil servants at the Sami Parliament, representatives of Sami organisations, and civil servants at the Swedish ministries, we analyse the extent to which the Sami Parliament is able to perform its role as a government agency. We argue that the dual roles of the Sami Parliament create problems not only for the decision making powers of the Parliament as a government agency, but also constitute a structural obstacle to Sami self-determination. Adapted from the source document.

På begynnelsen av 2000-tallet ble det norske invasjonsforsvaret nedlagt. Men hvilke årsaker var viktigst for denne beslutningen? Var det økonomiske, institusjonelle eller kulturelle årsaksforhold? I denne artikkelen legges hovedvekten på institusjonelle årsaker, særlig den norske frykten for at NATO skulle bli irrelevant for USA. Dermed var det bare en ting å gjøre: å avvikle invasjonsforsvaret slik at det kunne frigjøres friske penger. For slik kunne et lite allianseavhengig land, i utkanten av Europa, utenfor EU, og med felles grense til Russland, bidra med ekspedisjonære styrker. Ikke minst for å holde liv i et NATO som strevde med å gjøre seg relevante for USA, først på Balkan og senere i Afghanistan. Med kildemateriale fra Washington D.C., Brussel og Oslo mellom 1998 og 2002 tolkes Norges politiske kontekst inn i et institusjonelt perspektiv. Forhold som resiprositet, norsk omdømme og lojalitet i NATO, blir viktig for å forstå invasjonsforsvarets endelikt.
Abstract in English:NATO's Role in Norway's Defence Reforms, 1998–2002At the turn of the new milennium, Norway's anti-invasion defence concept vanished. What was the rationale for this decision? Was it economc, institutional or cultural reasons? The findings in this article emphasise institutional perspectives. Norwegian apprehensions over a possibly irrelevant NATO in the eyes of the United States stirred a fundamental post-Cold War defence reform. To preclude a future marginalisation of NATO, decision-makers in Oslo needed to free scarce resources from a static, territorial defence that had lost its political and military relevance in the High North. By forging a smaller but more professional force, with improved deployability, survivability and usability abroad, Norway could more effectively contribute to allied cohesiveness. Not least through improved risk- and burdensharing in NATO's out-of-area operations on the Balkans and in Afghanistan. By using primary sources from Washington, DC, Brussels and Oslo between 1998 and 2002, the data is interpretated though the lense of liberal institutionalism. Explanatory mechanisms such as Norwegian reciprocity in the High North, US expectations towards dependent allies abroad, and Norway's collective solidarity may explain why the anti-invasion concept died.