US security policy in the American Arctic

Abstract

The American Arctic, the territory of northern Alaska and surrounding seas, has never been a focus of US security policymaking even when the nearby Aleutian Islands were captured in war. Though separated by less than four miles (6.4 kilometers) from Soviet territory, the Cold War saw no serious commitment of US forces in the region, only submarines cruising under the polar ice. American security policies didn’t even mention the Arctic until President Bush and then President Obama included the region in their National Security Strategies in the post-9/11 flurry of homeland security activity. Many initiatives within the security establishment were undertaken, but there was little specificity of guidance from above, only a token commitment of resources and no provision for coherent direction. Under President Trump little seems to have changed, except for relatively uncoordinated actions by individual services, now with significantly enhanced budgets, to “up the game” in the Arctic.However, there is a growing trend towards concerns about great-power competition in the region.