Ethnopolitical movement of the Sámi in the Arctic region: from development to stagnation

Abstract

The ethnopolitical movement of the Sámi in the Arctic region is examined through significant events in its development, including during Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The author attempts to assess the current stage of the movement’s development and justify factors of its stagnation, proposing potential positive change scenarios based on the analysis of leading scholarly works in ethnopolitics and international relations, as well as open official internet resources of international organizations and periodical news publications. As a result, the author suggests considering five main stages in the development of the Sámi ethnopolitical movement against the backdrop of gradual formation of close international cooperation and cross-­border interaction among the countries where this indigenous Arctic people reside. It is identified that the collective West’s sanction policy against Russia negatively impacts the national consciousness of the Sámi people and the status of unity, which is unequivocally ignored by their own political leaders, leading the ethnopolitical movement to acute stagnation. This crisis is proposed to be seen as an opportunity to rethink the long historical journey of the Sámi towards relative political autonomy within the framework of pan-­Sámi policy.’