Over the Circle

This week saw the long-awaited opening of the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) in the Northwest Territories, a permanent road linking the two Arctic towns and providing many new potential economic opportunities for the region. As Tuktoyaktuk lies on the coast of the Beaufort Sea region of the Arctic Ocean, the completion of the road marks the… Continue reading ‘Normality is a Paved Road’: Canada’s New Arctic Highway and What’s Next →

About three weeks after Iceland’s latest election, the process of building a new government coalition continues, with the focus shifting to discussions between the centre-right Independence (IP) and Progressive Parties and the Left-Green Coalition (VG). Thus far, the talks have reportedly been progressing well, and if said negotiations are successful, the end result would be… Continue reading Iceland’s Election: Three’s a Crowd? →

As was discussed in a recent OtC post, much international coverage regarding the 2013 inclusion of six governmental observers in the Arctic Council was dominated by China as well as India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. At the time, there was less discussion about the admission of the sixth country, Italy in the Council’s observership… Continue reading ‘Chi ben comincia è a metà dell opera’: Italy’s Emerging Arctic Diplomacy →

The cornerstone of US President Donald Trump’s first East Asian tour has been his visit to Beijing and subsequent meetings with Chinese president Xi Jinping this week. The summit took place at the conclusion of the 19th Party Congress, which included a pledge by President Xi to expand and deepen China’s foreign policy interests on… Continue reading Beyond Pipe Dreams: Alaska’s LNG Deal with China Moves Forward →