Abstract
AbstractThis article compares Russian–Western cooperation in the Arctic and Space, with a focus on why cooperation continued after the 2014 annexation of Crimea. On the basis of this comparative approach, continued cooperation is linked to the following factors: (1) the Arctic and Space are remote and extreme environments; (2) they are militarised but not substantially weaponised; (3) they both suffer from ‘tragedies of the commons’; (4) Arctic and Space-faring states engage in risk management through international law-making; (5) Arctic and Space relations rely on consensus decision-making; (6) Arctic and Space relations rely on soft law; (7) Arctic states and Space-faring states interact within a situation of ‘complex interdependence’; (8) Russia and the United States are resisting greater Chinese involvement in these regions. The article concludes with the following contribution to international relations theory: The more that states need to cooperate in a particular region or issue-area, and the more they become accustomed to doing so, the more resilient that cooperation will become to tensions and breakdowns in other regions and issue-areas. This phenomenon can be termed ‘complex and resilient interdependence’, to signify that complex independence is more than a description. It can, sometimes, affect the course of state-to-state relations.
Highlights
The Arctic and Space are connected in many ways
Based on the similarities that it finds between the two regions, this article identifies the following eight reasons for continued Russian–Western cooperation: (1) the Arctic and Space are remote and extreme environments; (2) the Arctic and Space are militarised but not substantially weaponised; (3) the Arctic and Space both suffer from ‘tragedies of the commons’; (4) Arctic and Space-faring states engage in risk management through international rule-making; (5) Arctic and Space relations rely on consensus decision-making; (6) Arctic and Space relations rely on soft law; (7) Arctic states and Space-faring states interact within a situation of ‘complex interdependence’; and (8) Russia and the United States are resisting greater Chinese involvement in the Arctic and Space
Arctic and Space-faring states engage in risk management through international law-making
Summary
Dark, and dangerous: international cooperation in the arctic and space. Received: 3 December 2018 Revised: 11 March 2019 Accepted: 20 March 2019 First published online: 10 June 2019. Professor & Canada Research Chair, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, C425 – 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1, Canada
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