Russia’s military invasion of and war against Ukraine has caused enormous human suffering and material destruction. Together with manmade climate change and severe drought in many places, the war in Ukraine has also contributed to energy shortages, skyrocketing energy prices and major economic difficulties, not only for the warring parties, but across most of Europe, including the entire northern sphere, comprising the Arctic and the High North. Many of these challenges are urgent and require an immediate response from politicians, industrial leaders, and other decision-makers.
In addition, these unfortunate developments also raise a number of academic and scholarly issues, such as the extent to which political shifts have occurred in the global community, where the line between violations of international law and war crimes goes, how the war in Ukraine impacts human rights in general and the rights of Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic in particular, as well as other environmental, economic, and energy-related issues. Likewise, what impact do the increasingly visible changes in climate have on these issues?
The multidisciplinary focus of Arctic Review on Law and Politics makes the journal well suited for discussing and analyzing such issues through academic contributions from the fields of law and the social sciences. As such, the journal can be a platform for disseminating pertinent knowledge on the situation in the Arctic and nearby regions at this critical juncture.
The editors of Arctic Review aim to publish a series of articles, where we particularly invite academics and scholars from areas affected by conflict, economic recession, and energy shortages to contribute. Of course, other scholars are also invited to contribute. Both original scientific articles and news and debate contributions are welcomed. The former will be subject to peer review before publishing, while the latter will be assessed through a general editorial review.
For original scientific and peer-reviewed articles, the journal offers a complete or partial fee waiver on a case-by-case basis for individual authors or author groups affiliated with a university or institute in low-income or lower-middle-income economies as defined by the World Bank. If the author group includes researchers from universities or institutes in high-income economies, the publication fee will likely not be waived. For shorter news and debate articles, no fee applies.
Arctic Review is fortunate to be associated with research fellow Ekaterina Zmyvalova from Umea University, Sweden who has recently published the article “The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the Indigenous Small-numbered Peoples’ Rights in Russia” in the journal. She will chair the editorial work for this important series. Contributions received will be assessed continuously and published quickly according to the editors’ decisions.
Tromsø, 28 September 2022