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Completed project

The Limits of Sámi Politics: Inside and Outside of the Sámi Polity

Project period January 2017–June 2019
Project employer The Research Council of Norway
Project nr. 10159
Project leader Jo Saglie

Project Description

The project explores different degrees of attachment to the Sámi polity in Norway and Sweden: Who are inside and outside of the Sámi polity? To what extent are boundaries drawn between those who are included in the Sámi polity, and those who are not?

Main Theme 1

One main theme is people who have an attachment to the Sámi community, but have not enrolled on the Sámi Parliament's electoral roll, or do not meet the criteria to do so. When the Sámi Parliaments were established, it was necessary to make a distinction between those who had the right to register as voters and participate in Sámi politics, and those who had not. We will carry out qualitative interviews and study media content, in order to explore attitudes towards this issue in the Sámi public debate, among the non-enrolled Sámi themselves, and among political actors.

Main Theme 2

Another main theme is the varying degree of Sámi attachment among those who have enrolled on the Sámi electoral roll. This is done by means of quantitative voter surveys. We ask to what extent the increasing urbanization leads to a weaker attachment to the Sámi polity, and to conflicts between the urban Sámi and the Sámi in the traditional settlement areas.

Main Theme 3

A third theme is the distinction between Sámi and non-Sámi in policy-making, which is increasingly based on statistics. Using qualitative interviews and document studies, we will study the use of Sámi statistics in policy-making, and how the boundaries between "inside" and "outside" are drawn in Sámi statistics.

Project Approach

We compare Norway and Sweden throughout the project. Although Norway and Sweden are similar in many ways, there are major differences in the Sámi policy of the two states, and in the legal basis and authority of the two Sámi Parliaments. The relationship between the Sámi voters and their respective Sámi Parliaments and nation-states also varies between the countries.

See also:

Participants

ParticipantDegree PhoneE-mail
Johannes Bergh Research Director, Politics, democracy, civil society PhD +47 943 88 242 johannes.bergh@samfunnsforskning.no
Jo Saglie Research Professor Dr. polit. +47 991 62 131 jo.saglie@samfunnsforskning.no
Torunn Pettersen (Sámi allaskuvla)
Mikkel Berg-Nordlie (Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus)
Per Selle (Universitetet i Bergen)
Kristin Strømsnes (Universitetet i Bergen)
Stefan Dahlberg (Göteborgs universitet)
Ulf Mörkenstam (Stockholms universitet)
Ragnhild Nilsson (Stockholms universitet)

Publications

  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Pettersen, Torunn (2021). De uregistrerte. Mennesker med samisk tilknytning utenfor Sametingets valgmanntall. In Saglie, Jo; Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Pettersen, Torunn (Ed.), Sámi Parliamentary Elections: Identity, Participation, Party Politics. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. p. 67–100. doi: https:/doi.org/10.23865/noasp.137.ch3.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2021). ‘Sámi in the Heart’: Kinship, Culture, and Community as Foundations for Indigenous Sámi Identity in Norway. Ethnopolitics. doi: 10.1080/17449057.2021.1932116.
  • Saglie, Jo; Mörkenstam, Ulf & Bergh, Johannes (2020). Political Cleavages in Indigenous Representation: The Case of the Norwegian and Swedish Sámediggis. Nationalism & Ethnic Politics. 26(2), p. 105–125. doi: 10.1080/13537113.2020.1754555. Full text in Research Archive
  • Selle, Per; Semb, Anne Julie & Strømsnes, Kristin (2020). Urbanization of the Sámi electorate: An emerging dividing line within modern Sámi politics? Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning. 61(2), p. 101–123. doi: 10.18261/ISSN.1504-291X-2020-02-01. Full text in Research Archive

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  • Pettersen, Torunn (2023). Data to govern (or lack thereof). A structured overview of Sámi (non-)presence in official statistics in Norway, ca 1970-2020.
  • Pettersen, Torunn (2020). Telle eller ikke telle? Samisk-statistiske hovedfaser de siste femti år.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2020). Samisk nok? Hva er det å være same og hvem burde stå i Sametingets valgmanntall?
  • Pettersen, Torunn (2020). Tall for grenser: Variasjoner i samisk tilstedeværelse i offisiell statistikk – og i samisk politikk?
  • Strømsnes, Kristin (2020). Velgere på flyttefot. By og land i den moderne samepolitikken.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2019). Samehets.
  • Pettersen, Torunn (2019). Glimt fra tematikken samisk statistikk de siste femti år.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Olsen, Torjer Andreas (2019). Anstendighet i ordskiftet om og med EDL. Nordlys.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Olsen, Torjer Andreas (2019). EDL og jakta på «Samelandsbevegelsen». Nordlys.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2019). Norwegian Academia and the Colonization of Sápmi.
  • Saglie, Jo; Bergh, Johannes & Mörkenstam, Ulf (2019). Political Cleavages in Indigenous Representation: The Case of the Norwegian and Swedish Sámediggis.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Olsen, Torjer Andreas (2019). Derfor gikk det veldig galt i Selbu. Adresseavisen.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2019). Samehets - utvidet foredrag.
  • Selle, Per; Semb, Anne Julie & Strømsnes, Kristin (2018). Politiske rettigheter på vandring. Urbanisering av moderne urfolkspolitikk.
  • Eira, Berit Marie Lise & Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2018). Dutket sin geat eai beasa jienastit sámediggeválggain. [Newspaper]. Ávvir.
  • Larsen, Hanne; Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel & Josefsen, Eva (2018). Leter etter samer i randsonen. [Newspaper]. Altaposten.
  • Saglie, Jo; Bergh, Johannes & Mörkenstam, Ulf (2018). Political Cleavages in Indigenous Representation: The Case of the Norwegian and Swedish Sámediggis.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2017). Raajah - Public Debate on Sámi Electoral Roll Access and Sámi Definitions.
  • Semb, Anne Julie & Strømsnes, Kristin (2017). Is urbanization of modern indigenous politics possible?
  • Strømsnes, Kristin (2017). Er en urbanisering av den moderne urfolkspolitikken mulig?
  • Renå, Anne Siri & Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2017). Jakten på en sjøsamisk identitet. [Business/trade/industry journal]. LO-Aktuelt.
  • Berg-Nordlie, Mikkel (2017). Den samiske medborgeren: politisk sterk eller svak? Nordnorsk Debatt.

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Tags: Elections and Democracy
Published Dec. 14, 2016 10:54 AM - Last modified Feb. 27, 2024 3:24 PM