Michel Rouleau-Dick will present his research on “digital statehood” in a Research Seminar at Umeå School of Architecture. This seminar will explore how the state as the basic unit of international law is being redefined in the era of climate change and AI. While the state as a political, sociological or even historical unit needs no introduction, statehood is also a very specific legal term in the context of international law, the body of rules that applies to states when they interact.
Dr Rouleau-Dick’s research examines the possible emergence of a new type of state that would exist independently from a physical territory, as pioneered by the Small island developing state of Tuvalu within the context of its “Digital Tuvalu” initiative. This is groundbreaking in a number of ways and the seminar will present some of the key developments in the area along with a perspective on the broader implications of this change.
Dr Michel Rouleau-Dick is TAIGA Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Law and Architecture affiliated with UmArts the Arctic Centre at Umeå University. He works with International Law, and is interested in how aspects within international law, such as policies and human rights, can work in a changing environment like the Arctic. Rouleau-Dick is an Arctic Six Fellow exploring Arctic sovereignty and digital statehood; and a member of the UmArts Art and AI research project.