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.
What started as a predictable election season in Norway has been anything but, with economic and security concerns suggesting a closer race than previously thought. This as the country reworks its Arctic policy and begins to rethink its roles within Europe.
Even before the second Trump administration began, the president-elect began to yet again raise the dead-end prospect of annexing Greenland, giving no coherent reasons and alienating the Danish Kingdom. This controversy overshadowed the March elections in Greenland, leading to a new coalition government and a largely-unified stance against American neo-imperialism.
[Photo by Kevin Doyle via Unsplash] by Marc Lanteigne Much of the world is now bracing for yet another period of uncertainty and potential chaos in the wake of the election victory of Donald Trump in the United States last week. The incoming president’s previous foreign policy platforms were based on widespread disengagement and at… Continue reading A Sharp Right Turn: The Arctic Faces Trump 2.0
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
Over the Circle 