Emilie Canova - 2021 cohort

Emilie Canova ejpc3@cam.ac.uk

France

Geography – Scott Polar Research Institute, Fitzwilliam College

PhD thesis: The Arctic and the European Union: two geopolitical overlapping regions

Research interests:
1. The Arctic
2. European integration
3. Region-building processes
4. Maps and (imaginary/mental) representations

My PhD focuses on exploring EU-Arctic relations, understood as the interaction of two supra-national overlapping regions. With rapid climatic and geopolitical changes occurring in the Arctic, the European Union (EU) have shown a growing interest in the region. So far, this has been largely studied as the intervention of a single actor (EU) in a single Arctic region. However, both EU and the Arctic are complex geographical entities with multiple overlapping institutions and territories.

I will use critical geopolitics and qualitative methodology (especially conducting interviews producing mental maps) within the broader region-building theoretical framework. My interests are threefold: (1) better understanding why the EU poses an ontological challenge to the Arctic region-building process by (2) reciprocally understanding the Arctic as a test for the development of the EU as a unitary geopolitical actor, while (3) advancing understanding of macro-regional integration at the intersection of regional geographical imaginaries, representations, and policies.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?

I was inspired by my supervisor when I was visiting student at Oxford. I had Geography tutorials about the Russian Arctic with her and amazing discussions during which I discovered my passion for the Arctic and for analysis and theoretical thinking. She encouraged me to pursue in research and apply for PhD. I first worked in diplomacy and international organisation where I saw the added value of taking a reflexive step back from action. This experience also inspired me to continue in research.