Arctic News and Analysis
This month, the United Arab Emirates became the most recent country to sign on to the Svalbard Treaty. This is the latest in a long string of policies created to solidify the UAE as a major polar player, at a time when concerns over geopolitics, the environment, and energy are reaching new highs.
Harpa Concert Hall, site of the Arctic Circle Assembly [Photo by Marc Lanteigne] by Marc Lanteigne Since 2022, and arguably even before that, security and ‘hard politics’ issues have been growing in visibility amongst the myriad subjects covered by the Arctic Circle Assembly. This year however marked a watershed, as military affairs dominated many of the plenaries… Continue reading Arctic Circle 2024: Days of Insecurity
A bust of Roald Amundsen in the centre of the settlement at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard [Photo by Marc Lanteigne] by Marc Lanteigne Although there remains much conventional wisdom which still considers the Arctic to be only loosely situated within international law, and potentially subject to an inevitable competition over influence and resources, like any other body of… Continue reading Oasis No More? Svalbard and Contested Arctic Strategies
Over the Circle 