Arctic Narrative Research Articles

A Comparison of Stephen Harper’s and Justin Trudeau’s Arctic Narratives: Toward a New Geography of the Canadian North

This article intends to compare the political narratives on the Canadian Artic produced by the governments of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2006–2015) and Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2015–2023), with a specific focus on the identity dimension of these two sets of political narratives. Harper’s Arctic narrative, served by a unique personal commitment of the PM, promoted a radical shift from the historic Canada centred on the Laurentian region to a new Arctic Canada and in so doing, created a new political geography of Canada. In Justin Trudeau’s Arctic narrative, priority was given to reconciliation through the development of state-to-state relations with Indigenous communities. Embodied by the person of Governor General Mary Simon and concretized by the cooperative approach of Trudeau’s Arctic and Northern Framework, this new agentivity of Northern Indigenous peoples has ushered in a new decolonial geography of the Arctic. Unexpectedly, these successive official narratives of Arctic Canada have proven complementary in striving to move the center of gravity of the country north, thus creating new perspectives on Canadian identity and political geography.

Emerging post-Arctic tourism in the age of Anthropocene: case Finnish Lapland

ABSTRACT Climate change is often considered as a looming apocalypse in the media and its impacts on the cryosphere are increasingly visible in the Arctic region. This apocalyptic future of the Arctic relates to a set of narratives associated with the Anthropocene, wherein snowy landscapes, glaciers and polar bears have disappeared. This has led to a trend called last chance tourism, which has become an evolving economic opportunity for tourism operators and local communities. In this conceptual article we propose an alternative vision for Arctic tourism development referred to as “post-Arctic tourism”. In order to illustrate the idea, we utilize Finnish Lapland (Arctic Finland) as an example based on existing literature. It is argued that post-Arctic tourism may be based on so-called dark tourism practices if the used and circulated hegemonic representations of the Arctic remain locked in cryospheric- and traditional winter-based imaginaries. This scenario is supported by a social spatialization process called “Arctification”, associated with active attempts to maintain the cryospheric gaze. It is therefore critical for tourism businesses, regions and tourism-dependent communities to rethink and re-invent their Arctic narratives, through “de-Arctification” strategies, allowing for a plurality of tomorrows and for Arctic tourism to become more sustainable and ethical.

Relations on thin ice: a narrative analysis of chinese governance in the Arctic

In a fractured governance architecture, the Arctic region is increasingly faced with complex challenges like climate change, indigenous rights and commercialisation. Shedding light on a sorely overlooked topic in the literature – China’s Arctic discourse and strategy – this article applies an inductive, social constructivist approach, utilising qualitative content analysis and constituent dimensions to analyse Chinese Arctic narratives. Seeking to answer the questions: “How has China attempted to position itself as a legitimate actor in the Arctic, and has it been accepted?” and “How will this impact governance architecture in the region?” the results show that China has been accepted a legitimate actor in Arctic governance via a discourse of scientific exploration and cultural ties. Further, an increasingly dissatisfied China is challenging Arctic governance, replacing its scientific engagement narrative with one of commercial engagement, geo-economic power and, ultimately, prestige.

Arctic narratives: brewing a brand with neolocalism

Neolocalism has been identified as an important component in the current boom in microbreweries. When constructed actively and consciously, it can also be deployed in marketing as a method of brand-related storytelling. This argument is strengthened here through a case study focusing on Tornio Brewery, a microbrewery located near the southern edge of the Arctic in northern Finland. The qualitative research method used here involves the identification of stories related to neolocalism from the brand narrative composed of media releases, advertisements and other promotional material, in addition to beer names and labels. The themes emerging from this material—history and heritage, Lapland and the Arctic as geographic locations, the use of local ingredients and community involvement, as well as the culture and heritage of northern Finland—are then explored. Neolocalism is shown to provide a rich vein of storytelling that can be used effectively for marketing purposes as a holistic concept. While craft brewers have already explored neolocalism in their marketing efforts, the use of professional assistance in creating all-encompassing and meditated storylines is strongly recommended.

Assessing Japan’s Arctic Engagement during the ArCS Project (2015–2020)

As Japan is considered a non-regional actor in Arctic governance, this paper begins with analysing how Japan navigates the web of Arctic governance and how it manages to create a coherent Arctic narrative and engages with the Arctic both inside and outside the region. The present research argues that the construction of an Arctic identity is a praxis performed through time that needs to be constantly reaffirmed. To illustrate this point, the paper then uses a lateral rather than linear approach to assess the influence of the Arctic on Japan at present. This paper assesses Japan’s engagement on the main stage where Arctic governance is performed (i.e. The Arctic Council) since the release of Japan’s Arctic Policy and under the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability project, Japan’s flagship program for Arctic research. Looking to the future, countries such as Japan who are willing to be involved in all parts of Arctic governance will have to make a choice about what kind of Arctic relationships they want to create and in which of these relationships Japan could invest more.

Ártico, una lista de Mike Wilson o la palabra como frágil vínculo de la cordura

Nieve, un traje de Santa Claus y una voz marcada por una profunda ruptura son los ejes centrales de la narración de Ártico, sexta novela de Mike Wilson y siguiente a la conocida y premiada Leñador (2016) –también publicada por Fiordo–, en la que el escritor argentino-estadounidense radicado en Chile, sigue apostando con la experimentación literaria a través del uso de nuevos procedimientos de escritura que le posibiliten dar otro aire a las letras latinoamericanas.

Greenland as seen by two contemporary British travellers: Joanna Kavenna and Gavin Francis

Greenland has held a prominent place in the English imagination for a long time, its people and landscape sparking a variety of projections including the “Arctic Highlander” (Sir John Ross), “the Greenland bay of indifference” (Robert Burns), or the myth of “Ultima Thule”. This article compares the chapters on Greenland in Joanna Kavenna’s The Ice Museum (2006) and Gavin Francis’s True North: Travels in Arctic Europe (2008), two contemporary travelogues with a historical focus that also address current Arctic issues. The authors’ respective narrative strategies are critically assessed in relation to the diversity of viewpoints (external and internal), as well as the degree of reflexivity, they present. The article discusses what kinds of images their texts fashion, how they relate to the views of contemporary Greenlanders and in what ways the two authors contribute to the idea of a new Arctic narrative.

Framing the national interest: the political uses of the Arctic in Iceland’s foreign and domestic policies

In the article, I discuss how Iceland’s Arctic policies have been framed, developed, and enacted from the early 2000s to the present. The purpose is to show how the geopolitical importance of the Arctic has – after a post-Cold War hiatus – made the region a core component of Iceland’s foreign policy. By stressing the multifunctionality of the Arctic as a concept and spatial entity, I highlight which Arctic issues have been singled out and integrated into Icelandic official narratives. I examine how a cultural–historical interpretation of an Icelandic past has been used to underpin a discourse on a future Arctic economic dividend; how the Arctic has been projected as a symbol of Iceland’s renewed geostrategic promise following the end of the Cold War and the US military withdrawal; how Arctic narratives have functioned as a domestic political “displacement factor” in response to the financial crisis; and how the region has been “seized upon” both to reinforce Iceland’s Western foreign policy identity and to explore non-Western possibilities, such as increased ties with China. I argue that what has made the Arctic attractive as a political instrument in Icelandic foreign and domestic policies is its discursive “flexibility,” “expedience,” and “incompleteness.” By juggling diverse political, economic, and cultural factors, Icelandic elites have articulated the topicality of the Arctic by constructing ideological narratives of the region’s “future return” unencumbered by the immediacy of political accountability or scrutiny.

Making Books for Mr Murray: The Case of Edward Parry's Third Arctic Narrative

Abstract The Arctic explorer Edward Parry was among the most admired heroes of the 1820s, and his four narratives, all published by John Murray, won exceptionally high praise from reviewers. However, the praise was not unmixed with criticism. This article examines the reception of the third narrative, which was the least favourably received of the four. Reviewers' praise of it was often combined with insinuations that the true aim of the Admiralty expeditions led by Parry and his fellow naval officers was the production of luxurious and profitable quartos (or, as it was then termed, ‘book-making’). Many of the reviews demonstrate a sceptical and highly sophisticated approach to exploration literature as a genre. The case of Parry's third narrative therefore demonstrates the complexity of the processes through which the credibility and cultural authority of exploration narratives were negotiated.

"Sæt mig ikke paa en haardere prøve!" Johan Kulstads beretning fra Svalbard 1853

In his book from 1865 Johan Kulstad tells the story of a hunting expedition to Spitzbergen in 1853. The mother ship disappears, and in desperation Kulstad and his six men starts rowing their small hunting boat back to Norway. After six days of incredible suffering, they are rescued by a Danish ship a few miles off the coast of Finnmark. After outlining the main sides of this story, the article comments briefly on the way Kulstad tells his story: There is a mixture of pre-realistic and naturalistic narrative, there is a mixture of genres, and the text is without the heroism which is so prevalent in later Arctic narrative. Interesting detail: The way a Sami member of the expedition is portrayed

Remaking Arctic governance: the construction of an Arctic Inuit polity

This article focuses on the construction of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), the aim being to offer the historical context within which the ICC came to serve as a significant voice for Arctic policy making and as a representative of Inuit peoples in general. It explores the role of the ICC in relation to the domestic, regional, and international political events taking place during its formative years in order to provide the basis through which the ICC came to be a political authority in the Arctic. While the main coalescence of events was around the theme of Arctic resource development, each event significantly helped lay the foundation for, and structures under which, Arctic policy would proceed into the future. This includes a changing Arctic narrative that has transformed the Arctic from a being a region concentrated on resource extraction and Cold War security into a region serving as a symbolic pinnacle for global sustainable development. Through the expanded political agency of the ICC and an international focus on the Arctic, a vision of the Arctic has emerged under which it is defined by its natural environment and by the indigenous peoples who inhabit this space. This is an INDIPO project paper (Tennberg 2006).

"Far as the eye can reach": Scientific Exploration and Explorers' Poetry in the Arctic, 1832-1852

WHEN CAPTAIN JOHN ROSS BURIED A HANDWRITTEN POEM UNDER A CAIRN on Leopold Island in winter 1832, he was also suppressing an impulse common among nineteenth-century British Arctic explorers. (1) From 1818 to 1860, British Admiralty sent numerous expeditions over land and sea to map far north and discover a Northwest Passage. (2) Narratives these expeditions were published to popular acclaim, and science Arctic exploration became a common topic for discussion in England, being of a nature to excite public attention and to engage a large share general conversation. (3) Arctic explorers themselves became national icons, and their scientific narratives reflected and celebrated rationality, determination, and logic Victorian mind. (4) The dominance scientific discourse in Arctic narrative, however, did not preclude existence other modes expression on these expeditions. Poetry also flourished on Arctic expeditions, and subject matter these poems both comp lemented and contrasted with foci scientific narratives. (5) This paper argues that detailed demands scientific enquiry encouraged a poetic imagination and form expression, but that poetic expression aboard these expeditions was also a form discursive protest against rigors scientific discovery. While scientific discourse called for detailed descriptions of, and unquenchable curiosity for, exploring surrounding world, it elided individuality observer, as well as emotion inherent in experience discovery, in favor a series objective observations. Though unsanctioned as an official language Arctic exploration, poetry repositioned observer in center experience, emphasizing interaction between explorer and landscape and giving precedence to subjective perception. A minor episode in George Lyon's 1825 narrative his voyage to Repulse Bay (on eastern shore Hudson's Bay) exemplifies tension between scientific and poetic language on Arctic expeditions. (6) While exploring a deserted Inuit village, Lyon and his men obey their scientific (ethnographic) curiosity and uncover grave an Inuit child. The men examine contents grave, and Lyon records all faithfully in his journal. When grave is fully exposed, however, a small bird's neatly built nest [is] found placed on neck child (p. 68). Lyon succinctly describes absent snow bunting, erstwhile owner nest, through an artistic comparison: he defines bird as the robin these dreary wilds, [with] its lively chirp and fearless confidence, bringing English domestic nostalgia (the robin), sublime (the dreary wilds), and concepts heroism (fearless confidence) to bear in his brief statement (p. 69). However, though this statement implies a personal and poetic con nection with bird, Lyon feels unauthorized to express it: could not on this occasion view its little nest, placed on breast infancy, without wishing that I possessed poetically expressing feelings it excited (p. 69). The ambiguity in Lyon's use term power underlines discursive difficulty his position. In Lyon's succinct and subtle description nest and skeleton, it is clear that he does indeed possess ability poetic expression. However, as a scientific observer, he lacks power to use it: Lyon is authorized to speak only scientifically discoveries and observations he makes, and his personal or poetic impressions have no purchase in his Admiralty narrative. Lyon's poetic self-restraint in 1825 had historical precedent; like other explorers before and after him, he followed example set by his employers. The discursive boundaries on Arctic expeditions were established by Admiralty manuals on subject, designed to aid explorers not only in their search for discoveries, but also in their narrative productions. …

Echoing Silence: Essays on Arctic Narrative, edited by John Moss

Echoing Silence: Essays on Arctic Narrative, edited by John Moss

From Exploration to Publication: The Evolution of a 19th-Century Arctic Narrative

Relations between explorers of early Canada and their English publishers are sufficiently complex as to call into question the customary straightforward equation that readers draw between explorers' eyewitness experience and the narrative account of them, issued some time after their return to England. Captain Cook's first published narrative is the notorious case in point. Narratives of exploration played important roles in the establishment of imperial claims. The case of the publishing house of John Murray, good friend of Sir John Barrow, Second Secretary to the Admiralty for much of the early 19th century, offers an examination of much of the discursive shaping of the Canadian Arctic during the British Navy's search for a Northwest Passage. Archival materials pertaining to two of Murray's books, from John Franklin's first Arctic Land Expedition (1819-22) and from George Back's voyage to Hudson Bay (1836-37), place on view the process by which narratives of exploration evolved through the authorization of them by the Admiralty (Sir John Barrow) and the preparation of them by a publisher (John Murray) into published commodities. Key words: George Back, John Barrow, John Franklin, John Murray Publishers, publishing history, HMS Terror , Northwest Passage