SELECTED THESES ON THE CIRCUMPOLAR ARCTIC

The management of whale resources is the subject of a lengthy and as of yet unresolved negotiation between the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and the International Whaling Commission. By examining the link between culture and negotiation, this thesis attempts to identify the various points of cultural contestation that are manifested in processes of cross-cultural negotiation. Using paradigms advocated by Galtung, Bourdieu and Foucault, elements that affect the IWC/ICC negotiations are analyzed in order to further an understanding of the stratified position of aboriginal NGOs in international relations and to explore the discursive gap between western-science and traditional environmental knowledge. This simultaneous exploration of culture and negotiation sheds new light on the dynamics surrounding international handling of the issue of animal rights and Inuit and Aboriginal resource management practices.