Inuit Circumpolar Council Climate Governance Discourse Study

In recent years,the environmental and ecological balance in the Arctic has become increasingly prominent due to global climate change,and the role of indigenous organizations,represented by the Inuit Circumpolar Council(ICC),in Arctic climate governance has gained significance.While some studies have focused on the ways in which the Inuit Circumpolar Council plays a role in Arctic climate governance,less attention has been paid to how it constructs an authoritative identity in the Arctic climate governance discourse.Therefore,this paper aims to explore how the Inuit Circumpolar Council uses discursive resources to establish its discursive authority in Arctic climate governance.Specifically,the paper focuses on how the Inuit Circumpolar Council has constructed,disseminated,and maximized the impact of the climate governance discourse embedded in its climate governance aspirations.Using Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of discourse analysis as a macro-theoretical framework,this paper presents a critical discourse analysis of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse at three levels: the textual,practical,and social practices of discourse.Firstly,it briefly introduces the establishment and operation of the Inuit Circumpolar Council,its areas of interest in Arctic climate governance,and the ways in which it participates in Arctic climate governance.Next,it analyzes the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s emphasis on its climate governance demands and the framing of its governance proposals at the textual level of discourse.Then,it analyzes the process of production and dissemination of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse at the practical level of discourse.The paper further examines the process of generation and dissemination of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse at the level of discourse practice.Finally,at the level of social practice,the paper analyzes the macro context in which the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse functions and the role of the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse in shaping social practice.The paper finds that,firstly,the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s discourse has three main components: climate governance demands in the interests of indigenous peoples,climate governance solutions that include indigenous peoples’ participation,and a new conception of indigenous peoples and climate governance.The Inuit Circumpolar Council has adopted a discourse that makes its governance demands more accessible to the international community and frames its proposals and ideas for governance in a manner acceptable to the international community.Secondly,during the stage of discourse generation,the Inuit Circumpolar Council not only focuses on knowledge-based discourse production to enhance the authority of its discourse but also establishes connections with mainstream climate governance discourse.In terms of discourse dissemination,the Inuit Circumpolar Council employs various strategies,including information strategies,leverage strategies,and emotional strategies,to cater to different discourse audiences.Thirdly,the existing Arctic governance issues,governance subjects,and governance mechanisms provide a favorable macro context for the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s discourse to function,while the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s climate governance discourse also contributes to the establishment of its governance authority,shapes the international community’s perception of climate governance,and promotes global climate governance practices.This paper not only integrates the theories of discourse prominence,discourse framing,discourse referencing,and discourse transmission to provide concrete and operational analytical ideas for a macroscopic three-dimensional analysis model with theoretical value but also facilitates an in-depth understanding of the discourse content and expressions of indigenous peoples in the context of climate change.Furthermore,it provides useful insights for China’s active participation in Arctic governance and the discourse interface with indigenous peoples.