There seems to be a “governance paradox” in the High North. Even through national strategic documents, which emphasizes the importance of local actors ability to influence the strategies and plans for sustainable regional development, local governance still have little impact on formulation and materialization of those strategies. In this sense, there is a tension between rhetoric and reality.

The latest issue of the scientific Barents
Studies journal creates a better understanding of the role of local
governance in strategic development of the High North. The issue will use examples
from the Barents Region. The Special Issue called “Governance in the High
North: Rhetoric vs reality in the Barents region” is edited by Professor
Anatoli Bourmistrov from the High North Center for
Business and Governance and Associate Professor Svein Tvedt
Johansen from the Arctic University of Norway in cooperation with
several partners.

Five articles in this special issue
address different aspects of the “governance paradox” and explains the gap and
tension between rhetoric and reality in governance in the High North. The issue
uncovers important factors that deepen our knowledge about the nature of tensions
between the rhetoric and the reality of local governance. The articles offer
insights into how governance is challenged in the context of different local actors,
such as boards of directors at SMEs, citizens, researchers, and regional and
municipal governments. The contributions include local and regional actors within
the Barents Region and compare governance in the Barents Region with governance in
non-Barents Regions. The special issue offer therefore invaluable insights into the
different roles of governance in local government in the High North.

Barents Studies is an international journal that publishes
double-blind peer-reviewed articles. The journal is published by the Arctic Centre
at the University of Lapland (Finland) in cooperation wiht the Luzin Institute for
Economic Studies of the Kola Science Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences
(Russia), and the Barents Institute at the University of Tromsø (Norway).

Barents Studies: Peoples, Economies and Politics
Special Issue Vol 6, Issue 1, 2019
Governance in the High North:
Rhetoric vs reality in the Barents region
The journal is an
open access publication on www.barentsinfo.org/barentsstudies/English/Issues/2019-vol6-1

For more information:

Barents Studies: http://www.barentsinfo.org/barentsstudies

Research Professor Monica Tennberg
Arctic Centre, University of
Lapland
+358 40 019 2005, monica.tennberg[at]ulapland.fi