New insights and a better understanding of issues related to the Arctic and the High North

• Author: Øyvind Ravna
• Pages: 1-3

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Leader

New insights and a better

understanding of issues related to the

Arctic and the High North

Policies on the Arctic and the High North address a wide range of issues, including

the protection of natural resources and liveli hood of the many Arctic indigenous

peoples having their homelands up in the Nort h. ese issues are continuously

presented in the international and national media and press. ey are also reected

in the contributions we receive for review and publication in the Arctic Review on

Law and Politics, which in th is issue consists of ve peer-reviewed articles cover-

ing a wide range of topics ra nging from the protection of Sámi cultu ral heritage,

through the EU's High North policy to shing rights and boundaries in the Arctic

Ocean. Such contributions enable the journal to maintain our promise to provide

new insights and a better understanding of issues of law and politics related to the

Arctic and the High Nort h, and thus be a forum for academic discussions on the

sustainable development in the North.

Also non-Arctic states now put greater emphasis on developing their own Arctic

policy and strategy. e European Union is currently reviewing its interests in the

High North and is developing their Arctic policy. To illuminate this development

we are publishing an article by Njord Wegge in which the EU Arctic policy expan-

sion is discussed and analysed. rough interviews, document studies and existing

scholarly research, the author identies impacts on several levels, where properties

of the EU as an organization, external states, global warming and economic forces

are recognized as relevant explanatory factors behind the development of the new

European Arctic policy.

Marit Myrvoll, Alma uestad, Elin Rose Myrvoll and Inger Marie Holm-Olsen

analyse the current level of protection and present possible scenarios for future

management of Sámi cultural heritage sites and buildings. eir resu lts demon-

Arctic Review o n Law and Politics, vol. 3, 1/2012 p. 1–3. ISSN 1891-6252