Sociologi i örebro
  • Hem
  • Blogg
  • Sociologiska motiv

Anarchy in the North Atlantic. Regulating Faroese pilot whaling

12/4/2015

1 Comment

 
FIELDING, R., DAVIS, Jr., J.E. and SINGLETON, B.E., 2015. Mutual aid, environmental policy, and the regulation of Faroese pilot whaling. Human Geography, 10(3), pp. 37-48.

Faroese pilot whaling – grindadráp – presents particular challenges in organisation and governance. An ad hoc, spontaneous, opportunistic, non-commercial and voluntary affair, it requires the mobilisation of a large number of people in a short timeframe to drive and then slaughter by hand whole pods of pilot whales or other small cetaceans, potentially numbering in the hundreds of animals. It then requires a system of distribution in order to share out the sudden glut of meat between participants and within the community at large (Wylie1993). A recent article in Human Geography, drawing on observations and interview data, analyses Faroese pilot whaling using anarchist geography theory. It describes the practice of pilot whaling, including the sighting of whales, the drive, the kill itself, and finally the distribution of the catch. This involves discussing the roles of various participants, changes to the practice through history (notably the institution of a certification scheme for whalers) and opposition—both within the Faroes and abroad—to pilot whaling.

Picture
Grindadráp in Tórshavn. Photo by Bjarni Mikkelsen

Anarchy is not a word often associated with modern Nordic societies. This however perhaps reflects popular misconceptions of the concept. More correctly “[a]narchy is a form of governance characterised by a lack of hierarchical organization, and self-organizing and governing communities, where the means of subsistence is shared by all citizens” (Fielding et al. 2015:39). These citizens are joined together by “mutual need and common interests” (Berkman 2006). Faroese pilot whaling can be seen as characteristic of Kropotkin’s concept of “Mutual Aid” applied to resource management (2006). Whilst nested within a broader state hierarchy, the Faroe Islands are semi-autonomous within the Kingdom of Denmark. Regarding pilot whaling, each village largely self-organises, with neighbouring communities coordinating and cooperating throughout the archipelago to ensure success in each drive.

The Faroese embrace a communal hunt and condemn the sale of pilot whale meat for profit. They thus take a ‘holistic’, or cooperative approach rather than an ‘atomistic’, or competitive, approach. It is not a fixed or unchanging institution however and these changes reflect attempts “to balance the concerns driving global pressure to end the whale hunt, and local desire to both improve and protect a traditional activity that benefits and sustains the community” (Fielding et al. 2015:46). Linked to this balance is a desire to preserve Faroese self-sufficiency in food production, another characteristic indicative of an anarchist society. Indeed, compared to hierarchical, industrial agricultural practices such as large, monoculture farms or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), the relationship to food and nature embodied by Faroese pilot whaling is more in line with holistic anarchist thought. “The dependence on this food source and the close Faroese connection to it, combined with communal governance and attempts to ensure the long-term viability of the species and reduce the suffering of individual pilot whales provides an example of one successful type of anarchist governance of a resource outside the capitalist system by a society asserting itself and attempting to preserve its identity against the overwhelming pressure of global economic forces” (Fielding et al. 2015:46-7).

Picture
50 pilot whales were killed at a grindadráp in Tjørnuvík, August 2012. Photo credit: Becky Brice.

- Benedict Singleton, Russell Fielding and John E. Davis, Jr.

References

BERKMAN, A., 2006. The ABC of Anarchism. London: Freedom Press.
FIELDING, R., DAVIS JR., J.E. and SINGLETON, B.E., 2015. Mutual aid, environmental policy, and the regulation of Faroese pilot whaling. Human Geography, 10(3), pp. 37-48.
KROPOTKIN, P., 2006. Mutual aid. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
WYLIE, J. 1993. Too much of a good thing: Crises of glut in the Faroe Islands and Dominica. Comparative Studies in Society and History 35(2), pp. 352-389.

1 Comment
Margaret Singleton
12/4/2015 06:34:07 am

Thanks for a paper giving insight into the horrible practices of killing these highly intelligent, magnificent animals.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Om oss

    Det här är en blogg för och av Örebros sociologer. Vi skriver till oss själva och till andra om vår forskning, om publikationer, seminarier, föreläsningar och andra händelser. Vi skriver om reflektioner, insikter och sociologiska undringar som drabbar oss.  

    Arkiv

    December 2019
    June 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    December 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Kategorier

    All

    Vad forskar du om?

    Vad säger en klimatforskare?

    Den vita cykeln - en protestsymbol

    Resebrev - Vår i Nederländerna, igen

    Miljöns representanter

    På sociologiskt träningsläger...

    Challenges of guardianship of unaccompanied minors

    Kan vi bli smartare på att vara klimatsmarta?

    Hur påverka våra begrepp vårt tänkande om miljöproblem?

    Resebrev  - Vår i Nederländerna

    Varför ska vi reflektera över att nobelpristagarna är män?

    En sociologisk betraktelse av #akademiuppropet och #metoo

    Sociologer på skrivworkshop

    Har vetenskapen bidragit till alternativa fakta?

    Cultural theory and pop music

    Only cats sit on mats

    Mitt spikningstal

    Vem får forska?

    Jagad av framtiden: Social acceleration 3(3)

    Orsaker: Social acceleration 2(3)

    Tidsbrist: Social acceleration 1(3)

    Några tankar om "PK", autenticitet och moralisk ordning

    On being stuck dumb by the smart citizenry

    Anarchy in the North Atlantic

    Elegant Ahabs and Clumsy Ishmaels. A whaling history of plural perspectives 

    "Det bästa för mitt barn"

    Den optimala konferensen?

    Tusentals sociologer i Prag - vad gjorde de där?

    Lever vi i en ny epok?

    Dreams of an egalitarian past and present


    En kunglighet som skapar engagemang för miljön

    Sociologi som terapi?

    "Klimatångest" och individualiserat ansvar

    Kan man lita på miljömärkningarna?

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Hem
  • Blogg
  • Sociologiska motiv