Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture

Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture explores the complex processes at work in the generation of political cultures. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and quantitative analysis, it provides the first systematic, empirical study of political life in Nunavut, offering comprehensive analysis of the evolving nature of aboriginal self-government in the Arctic and shedding crucial light on Inuit--non-Inuit relations.

Political culture in Nunavut has long been characterized by different approaches to political life: traditional Inuit attitudes toward governance, federal aspirations for the political integration of Inuit, and territorial strategies for institutional development. Ailsa Henderson links these features to contemporary political attitudes and behaviour, concluding that a distinctive political culture is emerging in Nunavut.

Original and provocative, Nunavut explores political attitudes, behaviour, and institutions in Nunavut before, during, and after the creation of the new territory, challenging our understandings of how political cultures are generated and sustained.

This book will appeal to political scientists, sociologists, and others interested in culture and politics, Aboriginal studies, and northern development.

Ailsa Henderson is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto.