Celebrating Ten Years of Arctic Review

• Author: Øyvind Ravna, Nigel Bankes
• Position: Professor, Faculty of Law
• Pages: 1-10

© 2020 Øyvind Ravna & Nigel Bankes. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com-

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Citation: Øyvind Ravna & Nigel Bankes. “Celebrating Ten Years of Arctic Review” Arctic Review on Law and Politics,

Vol. 11, 2020, pp. 72–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v11.2684

Arctic Review on Law and Politics

Vol. 11, 2020, pp. 72–81

72

Editorial

Celebrating Ten Years of Arctic Review

Øyvind Ravna1 and Nigel Bankes2

1UiT The Arctic University of Norway; 2University of Calgar y, Canada

2020 represents a milestone for Arctic Review on Law and Politics as it is 10 years

since the rst, slender issue of the journal was launched at the university bookstore

in Tromsø, Norway, on 14 April 2010. In a manner of speaking, the journal has left

its innocent childhood and entered a more challenging adolescence. This anniver-

sary year provides an opportunity to both look back in time and to present some

thoughts about the future. It is also a golden opportunity to present an anniversary

anthology of insightful articles.

The story

The idea of a journal focusing on law and legal issues related to the High North was

conceived in the years of 2008 and 2009, inspired by the new High North policy

of the Stoltenberg government, closer academic co-operation with Russian partner

institutions, growing interest in the rights of indigenous peoples epitomized by the

adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in

2007, as well as the acknowledgment that climate change could lead to signicant

legal and political challenges in the Arctic. Knowledge brought to the fore in The

Arctic Human Development Report a few years earlier, also contributed to a new over-

all picture of the circumpolar Arctic.1

The mission of the journal, as stated in the rst editorial, was to provide a forum

to discuss and challenge questions of law and politics in an Arctic and academic

context. The terms law and politics were understood in a wide sense, encompass-

ing not only research in the legal and political sciences, but also disciplines such as

economics, sociology, human geography, and social anthropology. The aim of the

journal was thus to provide new insights and a deeper understanding of fundamental

issues related to the Arctic and the High North, and become a forum for academic

discussion on sustainable development in the North. It was also announced that the

journal should deal with a range of issues including: resource management, devo-

lution of powers, jurisdictional matters and environmental concerns. It was also a