Governing the Uncertain: Adaptation and Climate in Russia and Finland - Softcover

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This assessment of governmental approaches to the vital task of adapting to climate change posits this undertaking as a central issue of governance. It argues a close relation of governance to existing political and administrative practices. The product of a pan-Arctic research initiative called CAVIAR, it examines the technique of ‘responsibilisation’, in which the task of realising adaptive strategies is devolved to a range of levels of government, as well as to key individuals and organisations in society.

The book provides a detailed analysis of the development of adaptive governance in Russia and Finland. It presents a case study from the Sakha Republic in Russia that focuses on community’s participation in the process of governing of the flood events in the Tatta River area. Local adaptive practices are analyzed in relation to federal and regional responses that may mandate, encourage or collide with community’s agency. A second case study is centered on the Finnish community of Kuttura, Ivalo. It explores the mounting challenges presented by changing environmental conditions to traditional reindeer herding, as well as the efforts made to cope with these new factors. Combining anthropological research and political science, this penetrating work offers revealing scrutiny of governmental responses to one of the most urgent issues facing both politicians and the citizens who live in their domains.