Peripheral, Remote and Northern regions occupy a special place in economic geography’s theory and practice. Remoteness and peripherally, alongside with location in the cold and harsh environments, create conditions that often impact and sometimes defy assumptions, theories and policy actions stemming from ‘mainstream’ economic geography approaches. While covering vast areas and representing a considerable potential for economic development in some industries, most notably, in the resource extractive sector, peripheral regions have largely remained in the shadow of economic geography’s recent debates and advancements. Moving remote areas to the centre of economic geography’s theorising thus is overdue. Although many remote, peripheral and northern communities have faced formidable economic difficulties in the last decades, some demonstrate ability to endure and spur an economic reinvigoration based on innovative and sustainable industries. In addition, the continuing push for resources further in the Arctic encounters new economic, social and political contexts that transformed the way extractive industries operate and interact with surrounding communities. Changing climate is also dramatically altering the economies of the remote places, for example, by creating new transportation options (maritime routes in the Arctic) or affecting road networks (permafrost thaw). These combined and amplified dynamics justify a renewed interest to northern peripheries of the world, both among global economic powers and economic geographers.
This theme welcomes submissions on a variety of topics, including: