High North, Low Politics—Maritime Cooperation with Russia in the Arctic

Andreas Østhagen

doi:10.17585/arctic.v7.255

Abstract

Maritime activity is increasing in the Arctic. So is bilateral cooperation across maritime borders between coast guards intent on protecting natural resources, saving lives and assisting navigation. As tensions rose between Russia and the West in 2014, due to the conflict in Ukraine, coast guard cooperation in the Bering and Barents Seas was unaffected. Why? How did the respective bilateral cooperative structures between Norway/the United States and Russia develop, and why were they deemed “too vital to cancel” in the aftermath of events in Ukraine? This article examines how the respective states have developed cooperative regimes since the 1970s, and subsequently how these regimes have come to constitute the backbone of bilateral management of these vast and invaluable maritime domains. The argument made is that the specific character of coast guards and their role as stewards of the sea separate them from other military structures, making bilateral cooperation not only valuable, but indispensable, to the management of the states’ maritime sovereignty.(Published: May 2016)Citation: A. Østhagen. “High North, Low Politics—Maritime Cooperation with Russia in the Arctic.” Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2016, pp. 83–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.17585/arctic.v7.255

Highlights

As the relationship between Russia and the West deteriorated in 2014, military-tomilitary contact between the parties was halted
When comparing and contrasting these two cases of regional low-level regime-building, it is important to recognize that Norway and the United States (US) differ with regard to the emphasis they place on their maritime borders with Russia
The previous sections have described the development of maritime cooperation with Russia in two cases*the Bering and Barents Seas*with the intention of understanding this particular domain in a wider policy context

Summary

Introduction

As the relationship between Russia and the West deteriorated in 2014, military-tomilitary contact between the parties was halted. The article is only concerned with the Norwegian and the American coast guards’ approach to these issues, omitting Russian interests and perceptions, which is arguably a limitation Yet, studying how two Arctic coastal states*albeit of very different size and international status*cooperate with an increasingly expansive maritime neighbour in a time of constrained relations, should be of relevance to the study of international affairs at large. This article, makes an important contribution to the expansion of knowledge on this particular region, while placing both the Barents Sea and the Bering Sea regimes in a new context It brings forth new knowledge by comparing and contrasting these two cases, against a backdrop of a disruptive contemporary geopolitical event. Thereafter, we draw some conclusions, returning to the question of why coast guard cooperation was sheltered in the first place

Maritime Cooperation in the Arctic

Findings

Conclusion