Over the Circle

Last month, the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), in cooperation with the UArctic educational network and hosted by the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, held its fourth annual Korea Arctic Academy (KAA) in the port city of Busan (부산시), South Korea. This ten-day course brought together students and young scholars from all parts of the Arctic region, as… Continue reading Talking Arctic Affairs in Busan →

This week, the commandant of the US Coast Guard announced that a revised American strategy for the Arctic was in preparation. Describing the Arctic as becoming a ‘competitive space’, Admiral Karl Schultz noted an increasing emphasis on the role of the Arctic region in American strategic interests, and predicted the final assessment of changes to US… Continue reading The United States’ Missing Arctic Policy →

After weeks of winter-like weather, and concerns about whether summer would actually arrive in Iceland this year, the sun finally came out last week on most parts of the island. Nonetheless, Iceland remained a comparative cool spot compared with other parts of the world, including North America (especially Québec, where more than ninety of heat-related deaths were… Continue reading The Arctic’s (Hot) Summer of Discontent →

Football fever had too-briefly gripped Iceland over the past few weeks, as the country's team sought to advance out of its original group of four in the World Cup and enter the final sixteen teams in the knockout round this weekend. Unfortunately, things went off script in unexpected ways. The 2014 World Cup runner-up, Argentina, played… Continue reading Interlude: Iceland at the World Cup →