Conceptual theories and ideologies of sustainable development of the Arctic in the era of changing technological paradigms

Abstract

This study analyses conceptual theories and ideologies of sustainable development of the Arctic in the era of the 4th industrial revolution and the change of technological paradigms. It is based on the method of comparative analysis, as well as on axiomatic and empirical definitions based on the fundamentals of the civilization theory, reflecting the problems of changing technological paradigms, and the theory of innovation diffusion by the Swedish geographer T. Hagerstrand. The authors considered the prerequisites for changing the value development of countries, exemplifying it by the Arctic region. The paper touches upon main directions (concepts) of development of the “New North” (“New Arctic Region”) within the framework of the 7th technological paradigm, providing the analysis of the following: “Northern ideology”, “Metamodernism”, “Rethinking”, “Human development”, “Enlightened freedom of will”, “Bifurcation technocracy” and “Ultra-Scandinavianism”. As a result of the research, the authors came to the conclusion that the problem of sustainable development of the Arctic in the era of developing technological paradigms is multifaceted, and the chosen ways of this development are multidirectional. In the reference scenario, none of the adopted theories will be implemented solely on the basis of the underlying principles, since the Arctic region is currently facing pan-European challenges as well as regional and global ones, which will constantly interfere with the process and modify the given guidelines. An important corrective factor of this process is poorly controlled migration, which has brought to the region a large number of foreign cultural elements that own and carry an active civilization code, which is a challenge to the political and moral-ethical transformation of the region. However, for a whole range of cumulative reasons, the Arctic is now the stakeholder of high technologies, including theoretically oriented ones, being at the same time a testing ground for their development and improvement.