Representing Sápmi: Analysing the development of the Saami Council as an indigenous paradiplomatic organisation

Since 1956, the Saami Council has represented the Sámi, an indigenous group cut across four national borders, internationally. From its earliest days, it has served as a non-governmental organisation expressing the interests and defending the rights of its people at all manner of international fora, including the United Nations, the Arctic Council, and, increasingly, the European Union. What makes this organisation of interest is its role in taking on traditionally state-level decisions despite its small and diffuse nature. Membership is voluntary and based on a structure of larger, national Sámi organisations that pre-date the establishment of the official Sámi Parliaments. Even with the greater strengthening of domestic legal representation, the Saami Council remains the primary international voice of the Sámi. This article investigates this role by introducing and elaborating on the Saami Council as a case study of how a non-state, non-governmental advocacy organisation operates as a state-like actor on the world stage. Using the theory of paradiplomacy, this case will present the Saami Council, from its origins as a small gathering of like-minded activists to its central role in shaping the international indigenous movement and finally its ongoing outreach to the United Nations and the European Union. Based on this research it is asserted that the Saami Council is indeed a paradiplomatic body that operates at a high level of diplomatic agency, not unlike other sub-state actors. Furthermore, as this article shows, the Saami Council is a quiet influence member of the international community that continually advocates for greater self-determination to great effect. This, in turn, has implications for how Indigenous peoples should be perceived internationally, not just as subjects but as actors in their own right