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Topic

Territorial Restitution as a Potential Solution to the Problem of Ecological Debt: A Case Study of the Solomon Islands and Greenland

Department of Political Science

Date & location

• Monday, April 13, 2026

• 1:30 P.M.

• Clearihue Building

• Room B007

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Will Greaves, Department of Political Science, ̽��ϵ�� (Supervisor)

• Dr. Nicole Bates-Eamer, Department of Political Science, UVic (Member)

• Dr. Sarah Marie Wiebe, School of Public Administration, UVic (Outside Member) 

External Examiner

• Dr. Yvonne Su, Department of Equity Studies, York University 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Julie Williams, School of Public Administration, UVic

   

Abstract

This dissertation looks to develop a social-legal-political tool to aid island states during international and regional court cases, and climate negotiations. Specifically, it attempts to test whether my newly proposed territorial restitution model could be a beneficial alternative to existent land loss and alteration conversations based on ecological debt, loss and damage, and common but differentiated responsibilities. To accomplish this, this research develops a rationale for the model, based on it serving as a nexus between four interconnected fields of study: international law and organizations, environmental justice and ecological debt, the English school of international relations, and climate migration and climate-induced territorial loss. Furthermore, I test the model on two polities. First, I test the model on issues of land loss and alteration in the Solomon Islands, a low-lying archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean region prone to sea level rise and a variety of connected climate change phenomena. Second, I test the model on Greenland, a large island territory located between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, home to the world’s second-largest ice sheet, and prone to ice melt and other connected negative externalities. Ultimately, the research conducted within this dissertation leads to two main conclusions. First, the territorial restitution model can provide independent island states with support if they choose to have a climate change related case heard at the International Court of Justice, regional courts, or within climate negotiations. And second, findings revealed that while possible in the current pluralist international society, that transitioning into a world society based on solidarism would allow actors to better address land loss or alteration related to anthropogenic climate change.