ABSTRACT This paper explores the encounters of mobilities and margins in relation to rural tourism by focusing on infrastructures. Tourism development usually follows infrastructural progress through eased access and shortening distances. Infrastructure investments, however, are dependent on political decisions and funding that tend to be negotiated somewhat far from the margins. The paper debates these issues in the context of potential tourism development in Melrakkaslétta, a rural peninsula on the northeast coast of Iceland. After longstanding socioeconomic downturns, the locals have proposed tourism as a way to rebuild their community. For furthering the sector, a group of small local tourism services has formed a collaboration under the term ´Edge of the Arctic’. However, Melrakkaslétta is located far northeast of the country's main entering point and travel routes. Here I investigate these matters with reference to policies and strategies of the Icelandic tourism authorities and narratives of the locals in Melrakkaslétta, stemming from ethnographic research conducted in the area. The findings leave me to hypothesize about the possible effects that changes within the Icelandic mobility system might cause in Melrakkaslétta and thereby on other tourism margins. This, I argue, is relevant as systems of mobility are constantly evolving and thereby themselves mobile.

ABSTRACT This paper presents the building of a spatial-temporal database called SPACK, dedicated to the presence of hunting and fishing vessels in the waters of the French Southern Islands (TAAF): Saint-Paul, Amsterdam, Crozet and Kerguelen Islands, located between 37 ∘ S and 49 ∘ S latitudes. Although remote and uninhabited, these islands' coasts have been exploited since the late 18th century and integrated into a globalized trade network. Until France re-asserted its sovereignty a century later, they were considered res nullius. Knowledge about the vessels that hunted and fished on these islands was necessary to understand the history of the appropriation and exploitation of natural resources and the issues of public policies to preserve the environment. The SPACK database includes 1,241 hunting and fishing voyages recorded by area, involving twelve departure countries. This paper describes the methods used to collect, select and cross-reference data extracted from disparate and dispersed primary and secondary sources. It discusses the reliability of spatial and temporal data and presents the implementation of the database. Finally, it presents a use case for the SPACK database with a summary of the key findings related to sealing and whaling expeditions. Abbreviations: SPACK Saint-Paul Amsterdam Crozet Kerguelen, TAAF Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises, WHDB Whaling History Database

ABSTRACT This paper aims to investigate the possibilities of renewal of the waste management sector in the Arctic through increased regional collaboration. The theoretical part of our article focuses on collaboration in the foundational sector. The empirical study analyzes municipal waste management in Northern Norway, which is characterized by low diversity, large distances between settlements and recycling facilities, and relatively small internal markets. Despite the relatively thin regional structures, we identify a strong capability for performing regional collaboration and joint renewal initiatives among the waste management actors in North Norway. We argue that in the foundational sector, research can highlight innovative firms in the periphery that contradict the mainstream narrative in the literature and give attention to the regions outside the most innovative and propelling cities.

ABSTRACT The Arctic rapidly transforms due to global warming and increased human activities, triggering complex changes at unprecedented speeds that challenge conventional institutional responses. We analyse these changes through the lenses of social, political, and environmental boundaries and investigate their impacts on both inhabitants' livelihoods and the region's political framework. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, we highlight the complexities of understanding the interplay among global, regional, and local dynamics in an era where human and non-human aspects are entwined. Our analysis concentrates on three areas: definition of the Arctic; legal disputes concerning the waters around the Svalbard Archipelago; evolving natural hazards and societal risk perceptions in Longyearbyen. Through these examples, we underscore the intricate nature of social, political, and ecological changes and how they challenge current boundary-making processes. By combining knowledge from different systems and scales, our research reveals the interplay between policy-driven science, science-influenced policy, and performative behaviors in reshaping today's Arctic borders and boundaries. We particularly emphasize how climate change is challenging borders and advocate for a departure from static definitions, towards the formulation of environmentally conscious, socially just, and politically viable policies, acknowledging the new biophysical realities of the Anthropocene.

ABSTRACT The ‘smart city’ has received growing attention as a concept that could play an essential role in the sustainability of the Arctic. Today, the idea is associated with information and communication technology (ICT) when used in urban areas to improve quality of life, offer more efficient and effective use of cities’ infrastructures, foster social inclusion, and mitigate environmental harm. However, the relationship between smart cities and Arctic sustainability remains ambiguous, especially from perspectives beyond those of techno-optimism. Our aim in this paper is to critically discuss the value of smart city concept for Arctic cities, from an urban dynamic perspective. To this end, this paper reflects on how the sustainability of Arctic cities can be challenged by urban dynamics in metrics for (1) smart city development, (2) politics and bureaucratization, and (3) the role of citizens. The paper has several implications for academia, practitioners, and policymakers: for the former, it advances an alternative debate to explore the complex relations between smart city development and Arctic sustainability; for practitioners and policymakers, it indicates the problematic but often hidden side of smart city development, stressing the need to carefully translate the concept and its promises to fit the unique Arctic context.

ABSTRACT Ongoing research on international relations in the Arctic allows for the assumption that since the Arctic is treated as a separate region in geographical terms, it can also be seen as a particular sub-system of international relations. The region comprises eight states that act to ensure a secure existence by pursuing their own goals and interests in the international arena. This creates a security relationship. The Regional Security Complexes (RSC) theory is a research framework to analyze the region’s security. It clarifies international relations at the regional level, provides a picture of the security environment in the region, and enables one to see the directions of change towards securitized phenomena that change the face of the complex. This article aims to analyze the Arctic from the perspective of the RSC theory and determine whether the region can be treated as a separately functioning system of international relations with its own security dynamics related to the specific challenges caused by climate change.

ABSTRACT The on-going reduction of sea-ice in the Arctic is now facilitating maritime activities in areas previously considered inaccessible. Numerous statistics indicate that fishing and tourism are clearly gaining momentum within the wider region under discussion. Furthermore, a certain number of private companies and state-affiliated actors are setting into motion plans for promoting the use of the so-called arctic passages, while certain interesting business projects are already underway; the Yamal LNG Project is for example clearly standing out. As human presence and operations are expected to intensify within that inherently risky region, the first aim of this paper is to qualitatively identify certain business opportunities associated with the Arctic and then highlight their interrelation with the prevailing patterns of maritime traffic. Additionally, on the basis of the report titled ‘Arctic Shipping Status Report – Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) Use by Ships in the Arctic 2019' (ASSR #2) that was released during October 2020 by the Arctic Council's Working Group on the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME), it explains the use of the various types of fuels in the region under discussion and highlights certain environmental risks. Finally, it briefly assesses the overall effectiveness of a (proposed) regulatory intervention of completely banning the use of HFO in the Arctic. This initiative can indeed have a positive contribution to protecting the region's pristine environment, but any regulations of this type must also consider the issue of fishing vessels, which are not covered under the scope of International Maritime Organization's (IMO) International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).

ABSTRACT I argue that Model Arctic Council (MAC) has a role to play in Arctic sustainable development. Like the better-known Model United Nations (MUN), MAC is a form of simulation pedagogy, an experiential learning process in which secondary-school pupils or university students comprehend the nature and importance of complex issues such as sustainable development by imagining themselves as diplomats trying to negotiate a common approach to them. After demonstrating the educational value of diplomatic simulations in general, I introduce MUN as its most popular form, and I assess a case-study of a global MUN program designed to advance knowledge and action among youth in respect of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This case-study, taken together with the structure, subject-matter and educational value of MAC itself, strongly suggests that MAC can be used to advance knowledge and action among both Arctic and non-Arctic youth in respect of Arctic sustainable development, including understanding how the notion of sustainable development is both contested in general and contextualized in the Arctic. Combining this analysis with professional experience, I offer practical recommendations to educators about the effective design and use of MAC and other simulation pedagogies.

ABSTRACT Permafrost characterizes ground conditions in most of the Arctic and is increasingly thawing. While environmental consequences of permafrost thaw are under intense scrutiny by natural and life sciences, social sciences' studies on local communities' perceptions of change is thus far limited. This hinders the development of targeted adaptation and mitigation measures. We present the results of a survey on communities' perceptions of permafrost thaw, with a focus on subsistence activities, carried out between 2019 and 2020 in Aklavik (Northwest Territories, Canada), Longyearbyen (Svalbard, Norway), and Qeqertarsuaq (Qeqertalik Municipality, Greenland). Results show that the majority of the 237 participants are well aware of the consequences of permafrost thaw on the landscape as well as the connection between increased air temperature and permafrost thaw. The majority perceive permafrost thaw negatively although they do not perceive it as a challenge in all life domains. Permafrost thaw is perceived as a major cause for challenges in subsistence activities, infrastructure, and the physical environment. Different perceptions within the three study communities suggests that perceptions of thaw are not solely determined by physical changes but also influenced by factors related to the societal context, including discourses of climate change, cultural background, and land use.