Imagining an Arctic State: An analysis of the performance of the Icelandic state’s Arctic identity

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Icelandic state perceives the Arctic and its place in that region of the world. The thesis sees Iceland’s state identity as narratively performed and engages with a three-dimensional view of state identity based on space, time, and the state’s relationship with Others to construct a holistic view of state identity. Through a narrative analysis of Iceland’s Arctic Policies and elite interviews of Icelandic state representatives, this thesis explores how Iceland conceives its place in the Arctic. Illustrating what an Arctic identity entails in an Icelandic context, from an Icelandic perspective. Adopting a top-down perspective of state identity, the findings of this thesis indicate what the impacts of the recent growth in interest of the Arctic may be on Iceland, and how being an Arctic state may not only involve spatial factors. Whereas the region has largely been viewed solely on spatial terms, the other two dimensions brought into account in this thesis demonstrate the multifaceted nature of an Arctic identity.