Dr. Romain Francois R Chuffart new Nansen Professor

Dr. Romain Francois R Chuffart takes the position of visiting professor in polar studies at the University of Akureyri

Dr. Romain Francois R Chuffart holds the position as the chair and managing director of the Arctic Institute - Center for Circumpolar Security Studies (TAI), a public think tank for policy-making in the Arctic. In addition, he has also held the position as an adjunct in Arctic law at the Faculty of Law of UNAK this academic year. Romain completed his MA degree in Polar Law at UNAK in 2017 and last year completed his PhD in Law at Durham University.

Romain is an expert in public international law, international law, indigenous law and human rights law in the Arctic. He has led and participated in research projects on Arctic science together with participants from Greenland, Russia, Japan, Iceland and Norway. His doctoral thesis revolves around the interaction of human rights, the environment, and international law as a governance tool, with a focus on managing Arctic environmental changes and promoting environmental and decolonial justice. In doing so, the thesis develops an argument regarding Indigenous agency as the capacity to generate normative outcomes.

Despite his young age, Romain has made a good name for himself in his research related to the Arctic and collaboration with various Norwegian, Icelandic and international organizations on Arctic issues. More information about Romain Chuffart can be found here, but he will be staying full time in Iceland during the work.

The visiting professorship is named after Fridtjof Nansen, the well-known Norwegian polar explorer and humanist, and is awarded to an outstanding scientist working on issues related to legal, economic, social and natural conditions in the Arctic. The position is for one year at a time, according to an agreement on cooperation in the field of arctic studies and research between Iceland and Norway.

More here: Professor Nansen | University of Akureyri (unak.is)