Between Polity and State: Inuit Self-Determination in a Globalized Arctic - A Comparative Study of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Naleraq: Between Polity and State: Inuit Self-Determination in a Globalized Arctic - A Comparative Study of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Naleraq

Varberg, Marie

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2025

2025-06-01

The following study explores the role of Inuit ethnicity in the identity constructions and political strategies of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and the Kalaallit political party Naleraq – two distinct yet interconnected actors. The study is established through a comparative thematic content analysis of selected primary documents from each actor. The study explores how each actor mobilizes and experiences Inuit identity based on historical, contemporary, and future aspirations, in the overarching journey to achieve greater self-determination and political agency in the Arctic region. The transnational Indigenous organization, the Inuit Circumpolar Council, challenges the traditional Westphalian model of statehood and state sovereignty. It does so by promoting a transnational pan-Inuit identity. The documents under scrutiny assert cultural sovereignty through collective memory, Indigenous knowledge systems and governance, and through strong international diplomatic ties. Ultimately, the Inuit Circumpolar Council frames itself as a boundary-spanning polity, existing within the already established global governance structures. The Kalaallit political party Naleraq embraces a nationalist framework, wherein the modern state system becomes an integral part of the party’s advocacy for Kalaallit independence. Naleraq positions itself amidst the contemporary debate of colonial critique, Indigenous diplomacy, and entitlement to statehood. The documents showcase a strong nationalistic spirit, which is serves as the anchor for a much larger debate about identity and intertwined histories. The study is based on social constructivist and interpretivist methodologies, and further supported by the theories of nationalism, postcolonialism, indigeneity, collective social identities, and imagined communities. The study concludes that both the Inuit Circumpolar Council and Naleraq draw on Inuit ethnicity, but they do so in fundamentally different ways and on different scales. The Inuit Circumpolar Council utilizes transnational diplomacy amongst Inuit living in Kalaallit Nunaat, Alaska, Canada, and Chukotka (Russia). In comparison, Naleraq affirms a self-determination rooted in nationalist mobilization and state-building. The two different approaches to Inuit diplomacy illustrate both the diverse and strategic approaches through which sovereignty and self-determination are continuously reshaping the political fabric of a continuously globalized Arctic region.

Download
View record in AAU Student Projects