The Arctic
The Arctic is experiencing dramatic climate changes that also make the region available for greater resource exploitation and transport activity. The Arctic is indeed becoming increasing important in international politics.
The term ‘the Artic’ refers to the sea and land areas around the North Pole. The eight countries that border on the Arctic – Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the USA - are all permanent members of the Arctic Council. This area has traditionally been characterized by low tension as well as a low degree of economic exploitation of its natural resources. However, this is now changing, due not least to the effects of climate change.
Questions related to the use of natural resources in the Far North, oil/gas and fish in particular, are central to NUPI’s Arctic research, as are issues of security policy. For Norway, relations to Russia are a major factor in the Far North. Also important is the growing interest shown by other parts of the world in the Artic and its natural resources. A central thematic area for Arctic research at NUPI concerns the effects of climate change, which are already influencing and altering conditions in the region – as seen in the case of the new possibilities for traffic via the Northern Sea Route to Asia.
Sources: Store Norske Leksikon and NUPI.
News about The Arctic
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Transnational Ecosystems Cooperation is Taking off
19 Aug 2021Do these efforts to govern border-crossing ecosystems have unique effects that matter for global politics more generally?
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Launching Norway’s Plan for the UN’s “Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development”
8 Jan 2021NUPI’s Centre for Ocean Governance is ready to step up to challenge.
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Doubling Down on Arctic Diplomacy
12 Nov 2020- Alf Håkon Hoel
- Yun Sun
- Alexander Sergunin
- Robert Orttung
What impact will the new Biden administration have on Arctic politics? While the Arctic as a region is not likely to figure as feature in the 100-day plan of a new Biden presidency, there are reasons to expect some key changes for the region.
Publications about The Arctic
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Publication
: Academic article
Ecosystemic politics: Analyzing the consequences of speaking for adjacent nature on the global stage
2021This article introduces a conceptual framework for analysing and comparing the broader or unintended effects of cooperation anchored in border-crossing ecosystems. The importance of addressing this lacuna in our scholarship on such sub-global cooperation is underscored by research in political geography... -
Publication
: Editorial
Norge er en stormakt innen havforskning - FNs tiår for havforskning må gi et ytterligere løft
2021Op-ed on Norway's role in the UN Ocean Decade. -
Publication
: Popular scientific lecture
Frenemies: Arctic cooperation in conflict and a view from Russia
Lecture to congressional fellows participating in the Wilson Foreign Policy Fellowship Program (Wilson Center, DC)
Research projects about The Arctic
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Research project
Flanks: Security Challenges in Northern and Southern Europe (FLANKS)
2020 - 2021 (Ongoing)The aim of this project is to develop enhanced knowledge of Russia's behaviour in the Kola Peninsula and the Arctic region, as well as in the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea region – and to compare...
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Photograph: Allan Hopkins/Creative Commons/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Research project
The Lorax Project: Understanding Ecosystemic Politics (LORAX)
2019 - 2023 (Ongoing)Do regional politics around border-crossing ecosystems share important resemblances and differ in significant ways from global politics?
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Photo: Nonac_Digi/Creative Commons/CC BY NC-SA 2.0
Research project
The International Panel on Arctic Environmental Responsibility
2018 - 2022 (Ongoing)The International Panel on Arctic Environmental Responsibility is an independent and free-standing body tasked with assessing the environmental status of oil, gas, and mining companies in the Arctic.