The second volume of the Arctic human development report offers an update on the status of human well-being and development in the Arctic after the ten years of rapid and accelerating change, increased international attention and a growing body of (social) scientific research on the Arctic region since the launch of the first AHDR in 2004 (AHDR 2004). The editors of this ‘second circumpolar assessment of human development and quality of life’ (page 15) set themselves extremely ambitious goals: the report is intended ‘to help deepen our understanding of human development in the Arctic’ (page 10); to provide policy guidelines and recommendations for follow-up activities; to highlight gaps both in knowledge and in well-being between different groups and across the Arctic; and to draw attention not only to emerging trends and issues, but also to regional ‘success stories’ (page 22). Furthermore, the report is intended to serve the interests of local, regional and national policymakers as well as a wide range of other stakeholders in and outside the region.
In its organisation, the second AHDR predominantly follows its predecessor: the report is divided into thematic chapters each focusing on different ‘key domains’ (page 48) of human development in the context of the Arctic. While the content chapters mainly follow the thematic structure of the first AHDR, a solution beneficial to a reader familiar with the first report, some minor adjustments have been made: some chapters have been merged together, some have been left out and/or integrated to the other chapters as cross-cutting themes and some new concerns have also emerged. These changes reflect equally the real-life developments taking place in Arctic communities and societies as well as the changes in scientific understanding of contemporary Arctic developments and debates.
The first content chapter of the report takes a focus on Arctic populations. In addition to northern demography, also emerging phenomena such as migration, urbanisation and climate-induced relocation are addressed. These discussions are followed by an overview of Arctic cultures and identities; in this chapter, the first AHDR's focus on northern societies has been replaced by an interest on (emerging) Arctic identities. The fourth chapter of the report deals with economic systems of the North: the international resource economy, the crucial roles of transfer payments and local subsistence economies as well as their diverse interrelations are addressed.
Chapter five of the report brings together two different themes of the first AHDR, political systems and international (geo)politics, to a discussion on multi-level governance in the Arctic region. The following chapter on legal systems continues in a similar vein, as it draws attention to the multiple and overlapping levels of legal order governing societal life in the north. In the seventh chapter, similar tendencies are observed in the context resource governance: both living and non-living resources of the Arctic region are governed through practices taking shape and place in the interplay of a wide range of different actors from the local to the global levels in different situational settings.
In the eighth chapter of the report, attention is turned to concerns associated with health and well-being in the circumpolar north. Meanwhile, chapter nine complements the discussions on education in the first AHDR through extending the focus to both informal education and human capital. The last two chapters provide an attempt to knit together the broader picture of human development in the north from two different perspectives: while chapter ten investigates the globalising forces (page 49) shaping communities and societal life (also) in the Arctic region, the eleventh chapter discussing community viability and adaptation takes an interest in the interplay of different aspects of human development at the local level and in the context of Arctic communities.
As a whole, the report is an extraordinary endeavour as it addresses both historical trends, contemporary developments and potential future trajectories in the complex context of human development in a geographically, demographically and culturally diverse circumpolar north. Despite the magnitude of this challenge, the volume succeeds remarkably well on several fronts: the content chapters not only provide detailed and up-to-date information on different aspects of human, social and societal life in the north, but also highlight the diverse manners in which developments in the Arctic region are influenced by global processes and flows and, equally importantly, vice versa. Furthermore, the publication of the second report also bring added value to the first AHDR: together, they not only capture the situation of human development in the north in a given point of time but also allow for monitoring and comparison.
While the report manages to vividly illustrate the diversity of the human dimension and the disparity of human development in the circumpolar north, also some concerns remain. Despite the frequent emphasis on the relevance of the report to all Arctic communities, especially the case studies tend to lean towards highlighting the challenges and concerns faced by indigenous populations of the region. In a similar manner, the integration of the ‘common threads’ (page 43) of gender, globalisation and climate change to each thematic chapter remains in some occasions rather superficial or even artificial, although other chapters perform remarkably well in this respect. Some case studies presented in the chapters might also seem to reflect more the personal research interest of the contributing authors than the most pressing issues faced by the communities in the north; on the other hand, the diversity of topics touched upon in the report can at the same time contribute to a more nuanced overall picture of the broad spectrum of phenomena shaping Arctic societal life.
While the second AHDR is a scientific report, it is also aimed to serve a broad range of audiences and stakeholders from Arctic Council officials to local politicians and students in the field of Arctic studies. The clear and structured organisation of the report, including the summary of policy-relevant conclusions, as well as the detailed and comprehensive manner in which the concepts that are applied are defined, genuinely support achieving this goal. Curiously enough, what must be noted is that the key notion of development is not extensively problematised. Instead, the terms (sustainable) development, sustainability, quality of life and well-being are deployed nearly interchangeably in a rather promiscuous manner throughout the report. However, all in all the second Arctic human development report is a good read for anyone interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding the human dimension in the circumpolar north. The decision to have the report available online in open access format makes its results genuinely accessible also to the wider public. The report can be accessed here: norden.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:788965/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
