Arctic News and Analysis
This year's Arctic Circle Assembly conference in Reykjavík illustrated growing concerns about security and geopolitics in the high north. At the same time, the reduced presence of some major country delegations, and questions about the future of the ACA within Arctic policymaking, add to the questions about the role of 'Track II' diplomacy in the Arctic under the difficult political conditions seen today.
Svalbard continues to see itself in the middle of rapidly changing geopolitics throughout the Arctic. Norway has been seeking to strengthen its sovereignty in the archipelago, but pushback in the form of Russian and Chinese alternative narratives is becoming more difficult to ignore.
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
US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy docked in Tromsø, Norway, October 2023 [Photo by Marc Lanteigne] By Marc Lanteigne As the Arctic Ocean faces ongoing warming and the breakup of the far north’s ice cap, access to the region, and to its resources, have become a greater concern for Arctic and non-Arctic governments. Ice erosion in… Continue reading Icebreaker Chess? A New Polar Shipbuilding Deal Amongst NATO Members
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 