Nordic Security and the Saami Minority: Territorial Rights in Northern Fennoscandia

Abstract

International law posits territory as an essential component of a state's sovereignty. Indigenous peoples, like the Saami of Norway, Sweden, and Finland (collectively known as Fennoscandia), have challenged this definition of territory in their claims for self-determination and autonomy within and across sovereign states. At the international level, indigenous peoples demand that states recognize special indigenous rights to land and water. At the national and inter-Nordic level, the Saami raise similar demands in the courts, through Saami organizations, and, more infrequently, through civil disobedience. These challenges emanate not only from dissatisfaction, but from an entirely different concept of territory. Like other indigenous peoples, the Saami must demonstrate their support for an international system composed of sovereign states in order to be heard by the national governments of those states. That is, they must use the language of sovereignty and accept the logic of Westphalia, or a prevailing assumption that the state retains ultimate sovereignty over the territory within its borders. For example, leaders of Saami organizations are constrained by the necessity of presenting an argument that does not threaten the legitimacy of the national governments in Fennoscandia. On the other hand, indigenous peoples like the Saami argue for system change. Territory in the words of the Saami does not mean a component of sovereignty. The Saami say they do not wish to secede as a sovereign state; yet, they desire clear title to land, veto power over state-sponsored