The natural resource management in Nunavut and Greenland – a perspective through historical institutionalism

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article compares the self-government system in Greenland in Denmark and territorial governance in Nunavut, Canada in relation to the management of natural resources through the perspective of historical institutionalism. Both territories have undergone processes of re-empowerment, and possess major assets of natural resources, and the struggle for self-determination has triggered their metropolitan states (Denmark and Finland) and regional governments to consider some form of self-government. However, two different solutions have appeared due to gradual development through path dependency as legislation and form of government. Nunavut is a territory within the Canadian federal construction, based on Indigenous claims, while Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Danish unitary state. The land claims in Canada have given Nunavut some influence in the management of its natural resources, while Greenland has taken control of its subterranean resources through extended self-government implemented in 2009. This article will highlight the resource policy similarities and differences of the two territories via three potential explanatory factors: historical background, self-government, and the management of natural resources as a point of departure. The findings show that both regions have similarities in historical background and the management of natural resources, but there are also significant differences in how local authorities have addressed mining projects.