Considers the Arctic to shed light on generic questions pertaining to international cooperation as well as evaluating the prospects for international cooperation in the Arctic.

Increased global interest in the Arctic poses challenges to contemporary international relations and many questions surround exactly why and how Arctic countries are asserting their influence and claims over their northern reaches and why and how non-Arctic states are turning their attention to the region. Despite the inescapable reality in the growth of interest in the Arctic, relatively little analysis on the international relations aspects of such interest has been done. Traditionally, international relations studies are focused on particular aspects of Arctic relations, but to date there has been no comprehensive effort to explain the region as a whole. Literature on Arctic politics is mostly dedicated to issues such as development, the environment and climate change, or indigenous populations. International relations, traditionally interested in national and international security, has been mostly silent in its engagement with Arctic politics. Essential concepts such as security, sovereignty, institutions, and norms are all key aspects of what is transpiring in the Arctic, and deserve to be explained in order to better comprehend exactly why the Arctic is of such interest. The sheer number of states and organizations currently involved in Arctic international relations make the region a prime case study for scholars, policymakers and interested observers. In this first systematic study of Arctic international relations, Robert W. Murray and Anita Dey Nuttall have brought together a group of the world's leading experts in Arctic affairs to demonstrate the multifaceted and essential nature of circumpolar politics. This book is core reading for political scientists, historians, anthropologists, geographers and any other observer interested in the politics of the Arctic region.

The Arctic, long described as the world’s last frontier, is quickly becoming our first frontier—the front line in a world of more diffuse power, sharper geopolitical competition, and deepening interdependencies between people and nature. A space of often-bitter cold, the Arctic is the fastest-warming place on earth. It is humanity’s canary in the coal mine—an early warning sign of the world’s climate crisis. The Arctic “regime” has pioneered many innovative means of governance among often-contentious state and non-state actors. Instead of being the “last white dot on the map,” the Arctic is where the contours of our rapidly evolving world may first be glimpsed. In this book, scholars and practitioners—from Anchorage to Moscow, from Nuuk to Hong Kong—explore the huge political, legal, social, economic, geostrategic and environmental challenges confronting the Arctic regime, and what this means for the future of world order.

This book offers a wide-ranging account of the emerging issues of international politics in the Artic, and the emerging Geopolitical debates that surround the region. In this thorough but accessible book covering environmental issues, the author examines the Geopolitics of emerging land and resource disputes and the rise of both nationalist and pan-Arctic movements in the region. Whereas existing literature on the politics of the Arctic tends to focus either on the environment or on Geopolitical interests, this book considers both of these themes in addition to the politics of the region’s indigenous peoples and provides an overview on the emerging issues of international politics in the Arctic. The book makes full use of pedagogic features such as maps, diagrams, timelines, biographies and boxes highlighting key concepts and issues in order to make this an accessible book for both students and scholars alike. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of International Relations, Arctic Politics, Environmental Politics and European Politics.

Long at the margins of global affairs and at the edge of our mental map of the world, the Arctic has found its way to the center of the issues which will challenge and define our world in the twenty-first century: energy security and the struggle for natural resources, climate change and its uncertain speed and consequences, the return of great power competition, the remaking of global trade patterns In The Future History of the Arctic, geopolitics expert Charles Emmerson weaves together the history of the region with reportage and reflection, revealing a vast and complex area of the globe, loaded with opportunity and rich in challenges. He defines the forces which have shaped the Arctic's history and introduces the players in politics, business, science and society who are struggling to mold its future. The Arctic is coming of age. This engrossing book tells the story of how that is happening and how it might happen -- through the stories of those who live there, those who study it, and those who will determine its destiny.

As the ice around the Arctic landmass recedes progressively further each year, the territory has become a flashpoint in world affairs. New and lucrative trade routes from East to West are now becoming accessible for shipping lanes and military deployment, and the Arctic is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves. Yet the territorial boundaries of the region remain ill-defined. In response to these geographical changes the Scandinavian countries, especially Denmark and Norway, have begun staking large proprietary claims in the face of pressure from the major powers – Russia, Canada, the US and China – for the trade routes to be designated as International Waters. Here, Norwegian scholar Leif Christian Jensen shows how Norway has undergone a positional shift after declaring its assertive position on the Arctic in 2005. Its disputes with Russia have created a new foreign policy dilemma, and a new set of 'red-lines' in Norwegian policy. Is Norway, as it would like to be seen, an environmentally friendly, peaceful, 'enlightened' nation? Or does this geopolitical shift in world affairs necessitate a new and more aggressive Scandinavia? International Relations in the Arctic makes a timely contribution to the 'turn to the North' in International Relations and Political Science.

In this timely book, the authors provide a detailed analysis of Russia's national interests in the Arctic region. They assess Russia's domestic discourse on the High North's role in the system of national priorities as well as of Moscow's bi- and multilateral relations with major regional players, energy, environmental, socio-cultural, and military policies in the Arctic. In contrast to the internationally wide-spread stereotype of Russia as a revisionist power in the High North, this book argues that Moscow tries to pursue a double-sided strategy in the region. On the one hand, Russia aims at defending her legitimate economic interests in the region. On the other hand, Moscow is open to co-operation with foreign partners that are willing to partake in exploiting the Arctic natural resources. The general conclusion is that in the foreseeable future Moscow's strategy in the region will be predictable and pragmatic rather than aggressive or spontaneous. The authors argue that in order to consolidate the soft power pattern of Russia's behavior a proper international environment in the Arctic should be created by common efforts. Other regional players should demonstrate their responsibility and willingness to solve existing and potential problems on the basis of international law.