Arctic law and governance: The role of china and finland edited by Timo Koivurova, Qin Tianbao, Tapio Nykänen and Sébastien Duyck Published by Hart, 2017, 288 pp., £65.00, hardback.

• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Richard Caddell
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12313
• Date: 01 November 2019

    

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 357

BOOK REVIE WS

Revisiting key assum ptions about env ironmental re gulation in

Chapter 6, Hey vaert notes that ‘[i]f not a tr uth universally acknow l‐

edged, it is hardl y counter‐intuitive to claim t hat regimes are m ore

complex than th eir represent ation’ (at 171). Drawing from a r ange

of examples fro m the previous chapters, H eyvaert unpack s assump‐

tions often mad e about TER, for i nstance that su ch regimes are al‐

ways flexible, in centive‐based a nd light‐touch, advoca ting instead

the evaluation of T ER strategies on a case‐by‐c ase basis.

Chapter 7, then, serve s to subject the normative side of TER to

closer scruti ny. As a first step, He yvaert ex amines how, and where

exactly, transnationalism challenges conventional understandings of

what law is and how it fun ctions. In doing so, she point s to a move

from law as ‘terri torial’ to ‘de‐localized’, with it s source and function

becoming increasingly reflexive. She further describes the distinc‐

tion between public versus private law as becoming increasingly in‐

choate, and law's structure as increasingly polycentric. How should

we respond to such c hanges, then? The chapte r sets out three dif fer‐

ent options alon g with their resp ective stre ngths and wea knesses,

while leaving th e ultimate choice to the reade r.

A recurring the me in the book is that TER regim es, while often

portrayed in t he literature as f lexible, non‐ binding and almo st

‘benign’, can be accomp anied by a forcefuln ess that should n ot

be underrate d. ‘With power comes respon sibility’ (at 181). This is

why, in line with the thir d pillar of her resea rch, Heyvae rt opens

in Chapter 8 a norma tive discussion as to which princ iples do and

should guide TER gove rnance. While r ecognizing the pl urality of

principles us ed to guide specific TER r egimes, several key pat terns

are recognized. Combining deductive and inductive methodolo‐

gies, Heyva ert finds th at these overarc hing TER principl es are

mostly procedural, noting for instance the frequent commitments

to transparency, participation in decision making, and the notion

that regulator y decisions should be based on so und scientific ev‐

idence and expe rtise (as illus trated for inst ance by the endo rse‐

ment of the preca utionary pr inciple in a ran ge of international

environmental agreements). As Heyvaert describes, these prin‐

ciples seem to be i nterpreted mos tly in a manageri al way in TER

regimes, wher eas for instan ce participa tion has a rights‐b ased

character in h uman rights reg imes. This, in t urn, creates es sen‐

tially conflicting approaches to corresponding principles. The con‐

sequences of suc h mixed approach es are not explor ed in great

detail, however, maki ng this a possible depar ture point for furthe r

research.

The ninth and fin al chapter of the mo nograph ser ves to bind

together this en quiry into the id entity of TER , affirming t hat TER

can indeed be u nderstood as i ts own distinc t mode of regulat ion.

This, as Heyva ert stresses, is not to say th at TER regimes all share

identical characteristics, but rather that these characteristics can

be treated as a ‘bun dle of sticks’ of which each regime w ill have at

least some bra nches in common (at 253). The answer s provided in

the quest for a cl early articulated identi ty of TER are by no means

definitive, Hey vaert ac knowledges, a nd instead invit e readers to

pursue more det ailed and exp ansive analyse s of the themes at

hand. Noneth eless, the book provide s key tools and startin g points

to further de lve into the ways in whi ch TER function s, as well as

how to best harne ss its potentia l in ‘helping our gl obal society i n

reorienting it self towards a mo re environment ally sustain ably fu‐

ture’ (at 254).

In concluding th e monograph, Heyvaert s ummarizes the differ‐

ent ways in which her m odel of TER may help ad vance our under‐

standing of th is global pheno menon. On the f inal page, Hey vaert

concludes: ‘[a]dmit tedly, the sheer ac t of underst anding does

not solve any of the cri tical environ mental probl ems of the age.

However, it is an indispens able ingredie nt in the quest towa rds a

well‐governed and su stainable world’ (at 26 6). To this end, Heyvaert

has authored an e xcellent contribution.

Edwin Alblas

Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin

DOI: 10 .1111/reel .12313

ARCTIC LAW AND GOVERNANCE: THE

ROLE OF CHINA AND FINLAND edited by Timo

Koivurova, Qin Tianbao, Tapio Nykänen and Sébastie n

Duyck

Published by h art, 2017, 288 pp., £65.00, hard back.

Over the course of t he previous t wo decades, t he Arctic has as‐

sumed a position of unprecedented geopolitical importance.

Having previous ly been largely r egarded as a rem ote and inhospi‐

table back water, albeit one nota ble for its uniq ue ecosystem an d

iconic marine species, the rapidly retreating ice coverage in these

waters has gener ated new interest in its e conomic and navigationa l

possibilities. As tantalizing commercial opportunities become more

readily apparent, increasingly difficult and pressing questions are

being posed of the g overnance stru ctures of the mo dern Arcti c.

This region has his torically be en the near‐exclusive d omain of the

Arctic State s, for instance, those whos e marine or terrestrial juri s‐

diction overla ps with at least so me element of the A rctic Circle .

Increasingly, however, State s and entities f rom outside th e region

are seeking to pl ay a more significant role in the gove rnance – and

allocation – of th e resources cont ained therei n. This demand fo r

participat ion in the oversigh t and exploitat ion of an area that li es

predominantl y beyond nationa l jurisdictio n has accelerate d over

the course of the p resent century, with a num ber of States develop‐

ing national Arc tic policies and str ategies with the aim of bols tering

their respective national claims, presenting themselves as attrac‐

tive and legitim ate regulatory p artners a nd protecting a ccess by