ABSTRACT
If one sees the organization of state powers into a political framework as taking place in the Arctic Council, the organization of knowledge on the Arctic was developed in the University of the Arctic (UoA) initiative. While this University had not been planned as any inherent part of the Arctic Council, the idea soon took on a high profile in region-building. It was advanced by the participants in Arctic Council-related work in 1996–1997, developed further by an especially assigned working group in 1998–1999, and was intended as a network of universities and colleges across the eight countries, to be based on common regional needs and issues and to center on the concept of sustainable development. It thus provided an additional way to promote the existence of and knowledge on the region, granting the issue of education and communication in the Arctic (given the focus of earlier sustainable development projects) a long-sought practical manifestation. 1
