The Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies (JASS) is a peer-reviewed, open access e-journal published by the Åland Islands Peace Institute (AIPI), Mariehamn, Åland, Finland. The journal addresses its overarching theme of peace and security from the perspectives of autonomy, demilitarisation, and minority protection.

The Vol. 2 Issue 1 of JASS includes the following articles:

The aims of Åland and Finland regarding a new Act on the Autonomy of Åland 
Susann Simolin
The main question of this article is what intentions Åland and Finland hold regarding the self-government of Åland, and how this is mirrored in the ongoing process for a revision of the Åland Autonomy Act. This matter is studied through a comparison of three central documents in the revision process, issued by three parliamentary committees, one Ålandic, one Finnish, and one joint. The article analyses how the parties describe the background and development of Åland’s autonomy, the original purpose of the autonomy and the aims for the fourth generation of autonomy legislation. Also, some of the concrete proposals for changes in the Autonomy Act are discussed in order to see if the intentions of the two parties coincide or differ.

One Hundred Years of Solitude: The Significance of Land, Rights for Cultural Protection in the Åland Islands
Rhodri Williams
The aim of this research is to contribute to current debates surrounding Åland’s autonomy regime by seeking a fuller understanding of the origins and the evolving role of rules restricting outsiders from acquiring landed property in the autonomous Åland Islands region of Finland. The autonomy and minority protection regime that prevails in Åland is of particularly long standing, and the conditions that have shaped the evolution of Åland’s land rules have changed considerably during the nearly 100 years of their application. The article also briefly considers the relationship between the evolving Åland land rules and more recent efforts to articulate and justify exclusive rights to traditional homelands in other settings, and particularly those involving minorities and indigenous peoples.

The issue can be found at www.jass.ax.

For the fourth time, the Åland Islands Peace Institute in co-operation with the Open University on Åland offers a university-level e-course on territorial autonomy, with the Åland Example as a main case study.

The Peace Institute's director, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, has written together with two other researchers, Saila Heinikoski and Pirjo Kleemola-Juntunen, the book "Demilitarization and International Law in Context - The Åland Islands", which has just been published by Routledge.

The demilitarisation and neutralisation of the Åland Islands is a confirmation of, and an exception to, the collective security system in present-day international affairs. Its core idea is that there is no need for military presence in the territory of the islands and that they are to be kept out of military activities. A restricted use of military force has a confidence building effect in cases where competing interests may be so intense that banning the very presence of military force remains the only viable option. The regime of the Åland Islands is the result of pragmatic and contingent political compromises. As such, the case of the Åland Islands offers an alternative trajectory to the increased militarisation we witness around the world today.

To spread knowledge about Åland, self-government, minority issues and demilitarisation/neutralisation, the Åland Islands Peace Institute has compiled a book box, containing books published by the Institute or in collaboration with others.There are 20 book boxes, which will be put in different places in Åland where lots of people gather, so that those who are interested, can borrow a book, browse through it, read it and then leave it for the next reader.

Link to / Länk till Nyhetsbrev / Newsletter 2/2018

Download / Ladda ner Nyhetsbrev / Newsletter as / som pdf

CONTENTS:

• Seminar about Nordic efforts for mediation 14.6
• Hurray for Autonomy! Celebrating Autonomy Day 9 June with pancake and music
• Registration open for e-course on territorial autonomy and the Åland Example
• The aims of the Åland Autonomy Act's revision & the origins and evolving roles of land rules
  in the latest issue of e-journal JASS
• The Peace Institute offers information on Åland in book form
• And more

INNEHÅLL:

• Välkommen på seminarium: Norden medlar - hemma och borta, 14.6
• Hurra för självstyrelsen! Självstyrelsedagen 9 juni firas med pannkaka och musik
  Anmälan har öppnat: Internetbaserad högskolekurs om självstyrelse och Ålandsexemplet
• Målen med självstyrelselagsrevisionen och framväxten av landrättigheter diskuteras i nya numret av e-tidskriften JASS
• Fredsinstitutet bjuder på Ålandskunskap i boklådor
• Med mera

Come celebrate Autonomy Day with the Åland Islands Peace Institute on the square in Mariehamn between 17.00 and 19.00 on June 9th!

Stay updated on the Åland Islands Peace Institute’s activities, publications, open vacancies and events by subscribing to the new email list and choosing exactly what type of information you want to receive! 

Geir Ulfstein, professor of international law at the University of Oslo and one of the scientific advisors of the research project 'Demilitarisation in an increasingly militarised world...' has been elected as a member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The Academy highlights professor Ulfstein's contribution in creating new research environments for the study of human rights and the rule of law.

See: http://english.dnva.no/c41974/seksjon/vis.html?tid=41993

This year's Kastelholm talks were held on Thursday, 22.3.2018, with the topic "Media, power and courage – on credibility and trust in the public discourse". The Kastelholm talks began with a panel discussion in Kastelholm Castle, where the patron of the talks President Tarja Halonen discussed with a panel consisting of Merete Mazzarella, writer, essayist, journalist and professor of literary studies; Olof Ehrenkrona, Ambassador and Consul General of Sweden in the Åland Islands; Anders Mellbourn, Political Scientist, Journalist, former Editor-in-Chief of newspaper Dagens Nyheter, previous Director of The Swedish Institute of International Affairs and University Professor, and Britt Lundberg, Ålandic politician, President of the Nordic Council in 2017, former Speaker of the Åland Parliament, former minister and Deputy Head of the Åland government. The conversation was moderated by Professor Kjell-Åke Nordquist.

The Kastelholms talks were filmed: The conversation was livestreamed in collaboration with Nipå and can be watched (in Swedish) here.

After a coffee break, the discussion continued with a round-table discussion at the nearby restaurant Smakbyn. The discussion was launched by three new speakers, Martha Hannus, Chairperson of Association Regnbågsfyren and Sustainability Officer at Emmaus Åland; Barbro Sundback, former Speaker of the Parliament of Åland and former Chairperson of the Board of the Peace Institute, now Honorary Chairperson, and Janne Wass, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine Ny Tid. The Director of the Peace Institute, Associate Professor Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark moderated the discussion. The audience also participated, and the theme was therefore illuminated from many different perspectives.

On the Swedish version ot the web page, texts in Swedish, documenting the talks, as well as links to media coverage from the talks, can be found clicking here. 

The Kastelholm talks 2018 are carried out with support from: the Government of Åland, the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Fundation, the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the Parliament of Åland, the Nordic Institutet in Åland as well as Åland Convention Bureau.

Regina Österlund is an intern at the Åland Islands Peace Institute during April and May 2018.
The internship is carried out in agreement with AMS (Åland labor and student service agency). Regina is a nurse and healthcare professional with many years of work experience in social care and health care institutions as well as in a patient-interest association. She has broad knowledge acquired as a healthcare practitioner, human resource and project manager, dementia advisor, secretary and treasurer of the Dementia Association.
Regina describes herself as a curious, problem-solving, result-oriented person who appreciates studies and knowledge and has a genuine interest in other people and their well-being.
At the Peace Institute, she will work with an inventory of the Institute's library, archiving of various materials and dissemination of the Institute's own publications.