Norden has recently released a new concise policy brief on "The Nordic Self-Governing Areas in a Peace Perspective : The Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands", which summarizes the main findings of a broader study, published in Swedish with the support of the Northern Council, and available here.
The complete study, in Swedish, "presents the results of a research project where a number of researchers have analyzed the experiences and developments of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland in a peace perspective. Some of the chapters deals with these issues from a comparative legal, financial, political science and security policy point of view, while others focus on individual autonomies, their relationships to each other, relationships between the self-government and the state and the relationship with international organizations. The study's concluding chapter highlights a number of factors that have been important in order to resolve or prevent conflicts related to the autonomies in the Nordic region. Finally the possibility of such factors to work in other areas of the world is analyzed. " In the concise version published in English, the authors have presented the main findings of the report and key scientific contributions by various experts as for example Richard Palmer, Gunilla Herolf and the posthumous contribution by Kári á Rógvi.
Abstract
The Nordic Region has enjoyed two centuries of peaceful co-existence that are worth highlighting and learning from. As a result, the Nordic autonomous regions have attracted considerable attention in recent years. There is significant international interest in their experiences, including their experience of territorial autonomy. In a world that appears increasingly troubling, the autonomy of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland is worth studying from the perspective of conflict resolution. It seems important to examine the marked development that these autonomous regions have undergone and the success they have had in finding solutions to the conflicts that have arisen – not just from a Nordic perspective, but also from a wider international point of view. The conclusions of a comparative study of the autonomous regions' legal, economic, and security policy developments are presented here.
The complete study can be ordered from The Åland Islands Peace Institute at www.peace.ax
Download the policy brief here.
Download the full report in Swedish here.