GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
RETHINKING THE CONCEPT OF TERRITORIES The climatic and geographic situation within the Arctic region gave rise to a discussion about the geographical position and the political framework we could use for the arising new land (when fully melted the Arctic Ocean covers 14.06 million square kilometres)XIII. Both the geographical position as well as the political framework influence each other and decide how we perceive this land differently. The quote ‘The world is an archipelago’ from the philosopher Edouard GlissantXIV offers a way to rethink territories and their political sovereignty. The term archipelago refers typically to a group of islands closely scattered in a body of water. All these islands have their own identity but are still part of one political community. For this reason, the world, or more precisely the Arctic, which consists of several nations but thought of as one, is an archipelago.XV Geographically the Arctic circle, a line of latitude about 66,5 degrees north of the Equator, defines the area of the region we call the Arctic.XVI Five states that directly border the Arctic lay in this region. These states are Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia, and the United States and form the Arctic Five6. Besides these five bordering nations, also Finland, Sweden, and Iceland have rights and privileges within the Arctic, but they are not located within the Arctic Circle and are not part of the Arctic Five. Therefore, we are not yet able to understand ‘who owns the Arctic’ and ‘what is the political extend of the Arctic.’XVII Perceiving the Arctic environment as an archipelago transforms it into a more relatable space. It gives us the opportunity to understand the ownership and extend of the Arctic environment. Within an archipelago, several countries, each with a limited area, but constructed into one legislative body get in dialogue with each other. As a consequence, blurred borders between the countries arise. Hypothetically we could say that the different landmasses within the Arctic at once form one political body which is still geographically separated by pieces of the ocean. The archipelago now comprises several voices of the various nations and creates a new framework for Arctic sovereignty. Within this idea we can install a new understanding of the word nation, which is traditionally seen as a country with limited borders and only one legislative body.XVIII
14
