Arctic World Politics, University of Lapland

The Arctic is deeply entangled with world politics and the large global challenges of our time. Climate change and global warming have a profound impact on Arctic geographies, societies, and ways of life. Growing external interest in the region’s natural resources and transport routes has moved the region into the epicenter of broad geopolitical concerns and global divisions and tensions. Yet, knowledge and experiences of Arctic peoples, societies and communities, including Indigenous peoples, can profoundly challenge these dominant narratives and framings of the Arctic, and provide alternative, decolonial, and critical perspectives and agency to world politics and global change. Never has there been such demand for new, multidisciplinary knowledge on the Arctic region and its connections to the rest of the world. In this context, it is crucial to examine whose experiences and what kind of knowledge are valued in political decisions and policymaking, and for what purposes that knowledge is used. The master's degree programme in Arctic World Politics addresses these issues from a critical, multidisciplinary perspective that centers local-to-global connections and Indigenous knowledge, combining Politics and International Relations, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and Gender Studies. In addition to power relations, conflicts and systems of governance between human societies and states, we highlight the central role of multispecies relations, socioeconomics and Indigenous worldviews. During the two-year study program, you will build a comprehensive understanding of world politics, especially from the perspective of Arctic peoples, societies and communities, and develop skills in multidisciplinary and critical thinking. Such skills are necessary to address a variety of complex problems and challenges that are shaping global change today, and in future. The program culminates on a Master’s thesis that allows you to explore in depth a topic of your own choosing. The master's degree programme in Arctic World Politics is unique to University of Lapland. The programme allows you not just to study, but also live in a Northern society and environment, and study as a member of an international, multidisciplinary research community with strong expertise in interdisciplinary Arctic research.