Dr Ingrid A. Medby's research focuses on the ways in which (national) identity features in political-territorial legitimisation processes in the Arctic – specifically comparing how Norway, Iceland, and Canada are understood and articulated as “Arctic states”. This research has been conducted primarily through interviews with state officials, aiming to gain an understanding of how (Arctic) statehood is perceived from within the state administration itself and linked to notions of identity. Additionally, she is interested in the intersection of language-use and geopolitics, including Indigenous languages and rights; and in critical questions of geopolitical agency and power in a time of rapid climate change.
As such, her research fits broadly in the field of Critical Political Geography, while also drawing on interdisciplinary literatures on, for example, spatial identity, nationalism, and state theory.
Prior to joining Newcastle University in 2021, she held positions as Senior Lecturer in Political Geography at Oxford Brookes University and Teaching Fellow of Political Geography at UCL. She holds a PhD in Human Geography from Durham University, a MSc. in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in International Studies from RMIT University (Melbourne). She has published in international journals such as Political Geography, Antipode, Geoforum, Geopolitics, and