2011 Transnational Task Force on Arctic Governance

The 2011 Task Force on Arctic Governance is a joint program between the Canadian and Global Studies Centers in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington (UW) and the Makivik Corporation, Nunavik, Province of Québec, Canada as part of the UW and Makivik Corporation Educational Agreement Initiative. The vision of the program is to bring UW students together with their Inuit colleagues in Canada to address effective ways to govern the international Arctic region.

Task Force Report: Melting Boundaries: Rethinking Arctic Governance

Ottawa Report
Task Force Poster

Expert Evaluation Presentation
Task Force Photo Album
Ottawa Schedule
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (2 February 2011 newscast)
Article on the Course

Media Report on Arctic Issues

Web Bibliography

UW Libraries Arctic Studies DVD Collection

Archived 2009 Arctic Task Force Site
 

Arctic Task Force 2011
Task Force Instructors


Vincent Gallucci (left) conducting research in Alaska.		 Vincent Gallucci is a professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences; adjunct in the Jackson School and the School for Marine Affairs and is director of the Center for Quantitative Sciences in Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife. His research focus is the management of fishery resources in developing countries and upon coldwater fisheries in the Bering/Arctic seas. He has experience in Russia and published in the Russian Fisheries Science literature. He will help develop the scientific / political aspects of the Russian Federation's perspective in the Arctic debate. He has taught with a colleague a course on marine policy for over ten years. He serves on a Arctic Biodiversity Assessment team appointed by the Arctic Council helping represent diversity in both Arctic ecosystems and marine fishes. This will help establish a baseline for change that may occur due to global climatic or anthropomorphic factors. For more information: http://www.fish.washington.edu/people/gallucci/.

Nadine Fabbi sailing around the south of Greenland.
 Nadine C. Fabbi is currently researching Canadian Inuit political mobilization in the Arctic region – both geopolitical self-determination and emerging strategies in educational policy. In 2010 she was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from University of the Arctic and the Government of Canada for her proposal, “Arctic Educational Policies and their Impact on Canada’s Leadership Role in the Circumpolar World.” In 2007 Nadine utilized a Government of Canada Faculty Research Grant, “Inuit Homelands in Canada” to design the first Task Force on the Arctic. In 2009 she was awarded a Program Enhancement Grant to take 13 University of Washington students to Ottawa as part of the first Task Force on Arctic Sovereignty co-taught with Professor Gallucci. Nadine has travelled to Alaska, the Yukon, Greenland, Iceland and Siberia and has taught two summer programs on Inuit homelands for the University of Alberta. In 2008 she was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the International Council for Canadian Studies in recognition of her contributions to Canadian Studies. She is currently enrolled in a doctoral program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Expert Evaluator


 Julie Gourley is the Senior Arctic Official of the United States and is the U.S. representative to the Arctic Council. She handles the State Department’s Arctic portfolio covering the wide range of U.S. foreign policy interests in the Arctic. Prior to her current position in the Office of Ocean and Polar Affairs, she spent five years in the State Department’s Office of Environmental Policy where her portfolio covered hazardous waste and chemicals issues including the Basel Convention, the Rotterdam Convention and the Montreal Protocol. She came to the State Department from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she spent twelve years covering chemicals issues, hazardous waste trade and domestic climate change programs. Before her twenty years of government service, Ms. Gourley spent several years at both the Urban Institute and the National Council for Urban Economic Development concentrating on domestic urban issues. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, USA.

Editors

Kelsey Barrett
Major: International Studies, JSIS Honors
Minor: Political Science
I am interested in the governance of the Arctic region because it is an emerging issue in international studies, attracting political attention and spurring competition among countries vying for ownership of newly exposed natural resources. Having read Elinor Ostrom’s Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, this Task Force interests me, from a conceptual standpoint, as a critical, real-life, common pool resource situation. I want to see what institutional arrangement of rules or laws could be devised to incentivize individuals and groups towards productive, cooperative and mutually beneficial ends.

Scott Halliday
Major: International Studies, Pre-Med
Minor: Global Health
I am interested in exploring how the intersection between Arctic governance, indigenous rights, and climate change contributes to the determinants of health for people living in the Arctic region. How can international policy and governance lead to the best health outcomes for people living in this strategical Arctic region? I am very excited to travel to Ottawa and to learn as much as possible about Arctic governance!

Advisory Editor

Colleen Kennedy
Major: International Studies; Foreign Peace, Security, and Diplomacy
I am an International Studies major focusing on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy. Within our Task Force, I am researching the possibilities, benefits, and consequences of the Arctic Council accepting the European Union as a permanent observer. I am working to discover what, if any, sovereign power the Arctic Council could gain by collaborating with non-Arctic states and international organizations. My person career goals include receiving a Masters degree in Public Policy and working as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer.

Ottawa Editor

Zeina Hamed
Major: International Studies, Communication
Due to my upbringing in a bi-cultural household, I have gained a vast appreciation for the study of international relations, the opportunity to travel overseas and the ability to assimilate into (and gain knowledge of) other cultures. I wish to incorporate these qualities into our work examining the challenges facing the Arctic Region. I am eager to contribute a chapter to the report which discusses the background/current uses of the Northwest Passage. In doing so, I will help to formulate recommendations which will develop the legal status of the Passage – that is, under what circumstances may the strait be used, and by whom. Both my mother (raised in Alaska) and father have previously traveled above the Arctic Circle and I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to visit the region!

Coordinator

Victoria Choe
Major: International Studies
Minor: Environmental Studies
Being born to a missionary family, my sisters and I traveled with my parents from Ukraine to Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Kyrgystan, many times under difficult circumstances my sisters and I were left behind with various church members. As much as I used to blame my parents for not having a “best friend” or a “real” home, they always encouraged me to be like water: be flexible, so that I can mold in different countries among different cultures, but yet strong, so I could not be broken into pieces and lose my identity.

Task Force Team

John Bryan
Major: International Studies
Minor: Political Science
I am researching the effects of climate change and increased economic activity in the Arctic environment. I am looking at some specific case studies in Svalbard, Norway and the Barents Sea among others to better understand the challenges facing the health of the Arctic ecosystem and the primary stakeholders in the region.
Monica Chahary
Major: International Studies, Comparative History of Ideas
Minor: Slavic Languages
My interest in the Arctic revolves predominately around Indigenous peoples and how they exercise their sovereignty and goverance over a region where they have lived for hundreds of years. The focus for my chapter in our Taskforce report is on food security and how it relates to cultural integrity and sovereignty. I'm second generation Polish-American and, outside living in Poland breifly, I was raised mostly in a small farming town in Western Washington. I'm excited to explore more about Canada and the Arctic!
Griffith Couser
Major: International Studies: Security & Foreign Policy
I am thrilled to be able to study the Arctic region and interview experts on a variety of issues. Of particular interest to me is Arctic security issues. I am researching how military assets can be used to promote greater cooperation between nations, and aid in essential functions like disaster response and search and rescue, among others. I am interested in finding perspectives and insights about the militarization of the region, and hopefully finding ways to prevent conflict and unnecessary military build-ups. I am also interested in the Arctic Council and how it can be transformed into a better tool to address these issues
 

Kitty Gordon
Communications Director, Makivik Corporation
I was born and raised in the small community of Kuujjuaq. The first time I saw the city of Montreal I was eight and it had an impact on me in a way that made me realize just how big the world really is. I remember being amazed at how tall the buildings were, how there was numerous cars and how many different ethnicities I saw. The way I saw the world had changed forever. Being a part of this task force is also changing the way I see the Arctic, my home. I feel privileged to be able to work with the UW professors and students.
Jennifer Grosman
I look forward to further my understanding of Arctic Governance especially in the arena of natural resource development. The Arctic is emerging as a critical international issue largely because of the recent availability of natural resources. I am most excited to examine the relationship between environmental commitments and natural resource activity. On a side note, I had an amazing time backpacking through Western and Eastern Europe this summer and I look forward to exploring North American a little more during our visit to Ottawa.

Ahnalee Herke
Major: International Studies, Political Science
I am researching commercial maritime activity and shipping in the Arctic. I am particularly interested in how governance of the Arctic will affect shipping and what cooperative measures the Arctic nations and international organizations are taking to provide an adequate regulatory
framework for commercial maritime activity in the Arctic. On a personal note, I’m of German and Swedish decent and I grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington.
Lauren Hruska
Major: International Studies: Foreign Policy
I am absolutely thrilled at the opportunity to not only work on a task force tackling Arctic governance, but for the privilege of traveling to Ottawa, an experience that will surely enrich and strengthen our research. Due to climate change, dramatic changes have been and are currently affecting the Arctic, one of which is the decreased amount and thickness of ice in the area known as the Northwest Passage. I am currently researching the Northwest Passage and the implications globally of a significantly shorter sea route that connects the Atlantic to the Pacific. I am formulating recommendations specifically in terms of what Canada and the United State's roles will be, perhaps bilateral or multilateral, in terms of protecting the fragile Arctic ecosystem due to the likelihood of increased transportation, shipping, and resource extraction.

Lisa Koperqualuk
Major: Political Science
I am an advisor at Makivik Corporation based in Quebec City. I am finishing up my Master's degree in Anthropology at Laval University. I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Political Science in Montreal and began working for Makivik Corporation in 2002 in the communications department. I took a two year leave of absence to research my interest in anthropology, which relates to religious and political dynamics of her community of birth, Puvirnituq. My present
research for the Task Force on Arctic Governance is focused on education in the Arctic and bringing recognition of maqaittiitiuniq, Inuit hunters, fishers and trappers, as a profession.

Dominic Maltais
Major: International Studies
Minor: Latin American Studies
Being a French Canadian (from Québec city) and having developed a particular interest for Indigenous politics, I am focusing my research for this Task Force on Québec and its initiatives in terms of cooperation with Inuit and Cree communities.

Kelly Miller
Majors: International Studies, Euro Studies, and Germanics
I am focusing my research on the development of land claims agreements as a promising model of resource co-management, community-based governance, and sovereignty-sharing structures in the Arctic. Nunavut as a case study demonstrates how internal public administration coupled with jurisdiction over settlement lands can yield positive results for peace, stability, and human security in the region. I am originally from Portland, OR and study International Studies, European Studies, and Germanics; my Jackson School "track" is Ethnicities and Nationalities.

Kim Selling
Major: International Studies -- Diplomacy, Foreign Policy, International Peace & Security

I am fascinated by cultural misappropriation and the impact of local sovereignty, and I plan on delving into the public education and health sectors of the region and exploring how these communities could be better served by their government. I come from a Latvian background, so my interest in the Arctic region is not just intellectual; I would love to see firsthand how Northern communities are dealing with current issues and apply that experience to my own knowledge of the region.

 

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