Climate, Society and Subsurface Politics in Greenland : Under the Great Ice

This book takes the reader on a journey through landscapes, seascapes and icescapes of memory, movement and anticipation, and unravels the entanglements of climate change, indigenous sovereignty and the anticipatory politics of non-renewable resource extraction. This book draws on long-term and extensive anthropological research in Greenland with hunters and fishers, climate scientists, geologists, mining engineers, environmental consultants, and oil and mining company executives to describe how the country is on the verge of major environmental, political and social transformations as it aspires to greater autonomy and possible independence from Denmark.

Once imagined as a place on the very edge of the world, Greenland is now viewed as being at the epicentre of climate change. At the same time, international attention is focused on opportunities for oil and mineral development, seemingly made possible as the inland ice melts and sea ice disappears, revealing geological riches and making access to remote areas easier.

In this book, Mark Nuttall takes the reader on a journey through landscapes, seascapes and icescapes of memory, movement and anticipation. Unravelling the entanglements of climate change, indigenous sovereignty and the politics surrounding non-renewable resource extraction, he describes how the country is on the verge of major environmental, political and social transformations as it aspires to greater autonomy and possible independence from Denmark. At the heart of this is discussion about how resources and the environment are given meaning and how they have become subject to intense political and ideological struggle.

Climate, Society and Subsurface Politics in Greenland: Under the Great Ice is a key resource for academics, practitioners and students of anthropology, geography, development studies, political ecology and polar studies.