Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography

100 years of Norwegian Journal of Geography. Historical legacies, present challenges and future opportunities

In celebration of its centennial, the Norwegian Journal of Geography invites submissions for a special issue dedicated to reflecting on the evolution, achievements and future trajectories of geographical research in Norway. Where do we come from, what have we achieved, and what are the opportunities for the future?

Established in 1926 by the Norwegian Geographical Society, the Norwegian Journal of Geography has played a key role in fostering disciplinary dialogue and advancing knowledge to address societal and environmental challenges. This milestone provides a timely opportunity to trace the development and contributions of Norwegian geography over the last hundred years, and to look ahead at emerging challenges.

The period of conflict and profound transformations during which the journal was established resonates with the present moment in many ways. Current environmental crises, ongoing transitions, technological shifts, demographic challenges and skewed distribution of skills between urban and rural regions, democratic backsliding, and increasing geopolitical tension are profound global challenges that pose new challenges and opportunities for Norwegian society. The inherently interconnected and spatial character of these challenges, cutting across space, tying together disparate places, and bridging the nature-society divide, place them firmly within geographical scholarship and positions the discipline to make important contributions in the coming decades. 

This special issue seeks two forms of contributions:

1. Papers that critically and constructively engages with the historical trajectories of geographical research and education in Norway, and 
2. Papers that take as their starting point current and future societal and environmental challenges in Norway, key knowledge gaps associated with these challenges, and how geographic scholarship, theoretically and empirically, can contribute to address these. Examples of such challenges include, but are not limited to:

• •  Challenges and tensions related to the impacts of, and adaption to, the climate and nature crises
  • Shifting industrial trajectories and labor geographies as part of green transitions
  • Democracy, community and the rise of artificial intelligence
  • Geopolitics, energy production and infrastructures, including in the Arctic
  • The “new race for minerals” and resurgence of extractive industries
  • Planning and management under shifting pressures on landscapes and nature
  • Demographic challenges and the role of municipalities as part of ongoing transitions
  • Norway’s role and capacity in promoting humanitarianism, solidarity and development in an increasingly fragmented world order
  • Public safety and the role of place and municipalities

We encourage submissions from across the breadth of the discipline, including human geography, physical geography and integrative approaches. 

By bringing together diverse perspectives on past trajectories and future challenges, this special issue aims to point towards an emerging research agenda for geography in Norway that connects the historical contributions of the discipline with ongoing transformations, highlights the relevance of geographical research in addressing pressing societal and environmental challenges, and guides future scholarly and practical interventions.