Political security in the Barents Region

This chapter argues that political security is intertwined with democracy and human rights but that some issues and concerns subsist in the Barents Region notably in relation to the respect and protection of the rights of citizens and the rights of indigenous people. The right to vote in national, regional and local elections is crucial to ensure the establishment of representative institutions in a democracy, because the authority of the government derives itself from the consent of the governed. The right of the Sami people to self-determination is an essential feature of their human rights, and is the basis for their inclusion in democratic orders that govern them. While political security necessarily entails the negative obligation of the state to refrain from interfering with basic individual freedoms, it also includes positive obligations for national authorities to take necessary measures to safeguard basic political rights.