The SápmiDem project (2024-2028), funded by NordForsk’s Green Transition initiative, addresses a demonstrated democratic deficit in the Nordic countries concerning Sámi participation in resource development projects and legislative efforts. The project’s novelty lies in both its substantive and methodological aspects: 1) the topic of Sámi democratic engagement and 2) the project employs innovative methods, such as future scenarios and backcasting, previously unused in Sámi research, contributing to methodological development.
The project also advances the theory and practice of Sámi democratic engagement by incorporating gender as a central analytical lens in assessing Sámi democratic engagement vis-à-vis the energy transition. The research engages with deliberative theory, in particular feminist deliberative theory. The project is informed by structural justice theory, focusing on the underlying structures and systems that produce and perpetuate social inequalities.
Our main research question is: How does advancing Sámi democratic engagement generate more just decision making and greater legitimacy between national governments and Sámi society?
Key approaches and envisioned contributions can be divided into three main categories.
Situated perspectives on energy justice
- How to balance and protect democratic participation in a rapidly changing political environment?
- How can rapid and extensive social change be built from the bottom-up?
Legislative opportunities and challenges
- The implementation and effects of novel policy and legislative measures still unknown
- Examining public agency permitting and corporate due diligence practices as potential spaces for a ‘change from below’
- Mapping “best practices” and facilitating policy dialogues
Systemic analysis and innovation
- Combining intersectional analysis with deliberative theories and methodologies
- Identifying and developing institutional mechanisms for effective recognition and Sámi representation
The project is organized into four interconnected work packages.
WP1 (led by Dr. Andrei Marin) investigates how a locally relevant concept of ‘just transition’ may be articulated and implemented in Sápmi.
WP2 (led by Dr. Kaisa Raitio) examines public agency permitting and corporate due diligence practices as potential spaces for a ‘change from below’ under current national-level regulatory failures
WP3 (led by PI Dr. Kuokkanen) investigates the systemic and structural changes required at local, regional, and national levels for a just and legitimate energy transition in Sápmi.
WP4 synthesises findings from other WPs for best practices and implementation plans to advance Sámi democratic engagement in just and legitimate energy transition. By utilizing theoretical, methodological, and empirical insights of the project, aim is to draft engagement strategies of energy transition justice from a Sámi perspective as well as propose actionable steps and critical focus areas for policymakers.