Arctic Issues Research Articles

Arctic Governance in the Face of Climate Change: A Case for “Inclusive Regionalism”

Abstract Arctic governance has entered a period of turmoil following the March 2022 Arctic Council pause in operations and, subsequently, the strained relations between the member states. As climate change dramatically alters the Arctic environment, opening the region to new economic possibilities and more global attention, the need for cooperation is greater than ever. This article examines the current geopolitical and environmental pressures that are undermining the Arctic Council’s legitimacy and operations at a critical juncture in Arctic governance. It contends that the Arctic Council must rethink how it engages with Arctic Council observers and the wider global community to ensure that pressing ecological, economic, and social issues are addressed judiciously to prevent potentially irreparable harm in the region. Specifically, the case is made that a shift to “inclusive regionalism” could secure the Arctic Council’s position as the pre-eminent forum to address Arctic issues and to re-establish the spirit of collaboration that reigned for a quarter century.

Arctic disinformation on X (Twitter) – an empirical investigation

ABSTRACT Disinformation campaigns have been deployed on social media by foreign states to target democratic elections as well as sow distrust in traditional authority figures. Scarce attention has been devoted to study the intensity and nature of online disinformation in relation to Arctic issues. This article presents evidence from an empirical study that gathered 1.7 million messages posted on the social media X (Twitter) that addressed Arctic issues. In total, we manually coded 12 500 to detect if and how disinformation was present. We found that Arctic disinformation is first and foremost climate disinformation: climate deniers or minimizers are the main drivers of disinformation on the region. These accounts have used common strategies including cherry-picking data, providing anecdotal evidence and attacking scientists to push their arguments forward. Finally, we observed an increase in Arctic disinformation since Elon Musk expressed his intention to acquire the platform.

Characterizing collaborative networks for different arctic issues based on complex network analysis

International collaboration is widely accepted as an effective way to address Arctic-related issues, and these collaborative events have been frequently reported in recent years. To obtain the potential regular pattern hidden behind these events, a comprehensive methodology is proposed in this study. A database containing all the international collaborative events in terms of Arctic issues reported in the last decade was first developed, and these events were categorized into six aspects. Correspondingly, six subnetworks are developed, in which the nodes are represented by collaborative states, while the edges are denoted by collaborative relationships. These subnetworks are then characterized and compared by quantitative network parameters of total connections, network density, average path length, network transitivity, degree centrality, closeness centrality, and clustering coefficients. Finally, the performance of the individual states in each subnetwork is quantitatively analysed. The results show that Arctic science and research are the top priorities for international collaboration, and many uncertainties are involved in collaboration for Arctic resource utilization. In addition, the challenges faced by the non-Arctic states participating in Arctic issues are explained, and suggestions to promote international collaboration in terms of Arctic issues are proposed.

Arctic Floating University Diary as the Media Genre Influencing University Students’ Perception of the Arctic Issues

Arctic Floating University Diary as the Media Genre Influencing University Students’ Perception of the Arctic Issues

Collaboration network analysis for the Arctic issues based on a collection of international collaborative events

In recent years, global warming has accelerated the melting of Arctic ice. The value of the Arctic has been increasing in various aspects and has received widespread attention from the international community. The significance of globalization of the Arctic issue has become more and more prominent, the member states of the Arctic Council, observer states, and non-Arctic countries that have intensively developed and updated their respective Arctic strategies have actively participated about Arctic issues. The international collaboration has gradually become an effective way of addressing Arctic issues. In order to explore the pattern behind the collaborative events about Arctic issues, with the application of complex network analysis, the international collaborative events about Arctic issues from 2013 to 2023 are selected to construct the collaborative networks. Then the collaborative networks are quantitatively analyzed by the relevant parameters of complex network. These parameters for quantitative analysis include network density, average path length, clustering coefficient, degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality. The results of the study reveal the changes in international collaboration about Arctic issues from 2013 to 2023.

Этнокультурные аспекты арктической специфики в стратегиях социально-экономического развития регионов и муниципалитетов Арктической зоны Российской Федерации

The article addresses the integration of ethnocultural aspects of the Arctic issues concerning the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Russian Far East (ISNP) into the socio-economic development strategies (SEDS) of the regions and municipalities within the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF). The study is based on the authors' methodology for content analysis of strategies, which enables the identification of the presence of various Arctic-specific topics in the texts. The content analysis of 61 strategies from Arctic regions and municipalities reveals a low level of implementation of federal regulations dedicated to supporting ISNP in regional and municipal SEDS. The development of the "nomadic schools" topic in the SEDS is also examined, and the strategies where this issue is covered are described. The article compares municipalities and regions of the AZRF based on the presence of ethnocultural topics in the strategies and their corresponding socio-economic indicators. A final grouping of municipalities is conducted according to the actual proportion of ISNP in the population of Arctic municipalities and the degree to which ISNP-related issues are reflected in SEDS, determined by the frequency of the marker word “Indigenous Peoples (ISNP).” Five groups of municipalities are identified, with particular attention given to Group IV: “Significantly Underrepresenting Important ISNP-Related Topics for the Municipality.” Additionally, the results of the municipal grouping highlight the prominence of regional boundaries. Differences in content analysis results based on the geographical location of the municipalities are identified. The article may be useful for providing recommendations to Arctic strategists on incorporating Arctic-specific issues into strategic documents.

Native Canadian daily life in the Northwest Passage context

This article explores the connection between the indigenous populations of the North and the Canadian government regarding the Northwest Passage in the Arctic region. The significance of indigenous representation in managing the Northwest Passage is emphasized. The challenges faced by small indigenous groups of the Canadian Arctic are addressed, as well as possible solutions through series of mutually beneficial economic and political proposals. Inuit involvement in the management of marine ecosystem goes beyond Canada’s borders. The Arctic Council has demonstrated that permanent participants from Northern Indigenous communities can significantly influence government, especially on Arctic issues. The days when the Arctic was on the outskirts of global political affairs are gone, as are the days of Canada’s previous passive stance towards its assertions of historically internal waters within the Northwest Passage. Advancing the interests of Indigenous peoples of the North is a well-established Canadian position. The utilization of the Arctic territory by these peoples serves as the backbone of Canada’s Arctic State Policy, consistently articulated by the Government of Canada.

Russian Universities as Actors of Arctic Science Diplomacy

Abstract. This article examines the role of Russian universities in emerging and further developing Arctic science diplomacy (ASD). According to authors, in the current geopolitical conditions Russian universities are significant ASD actors which perform a number of important functions for the organization of international scientific cooperation with foreign countries and making a positive image of Russia in the world. The paper uses a systemic approach to identify Russian universities’ contribution to the ASD development through various mechanisms: joint research projects and publications with foreign partners, the organization of international events on the Arctic issues and participation in prestigious international conferences on the Arctic research area, joint polar expeditions (land and maritime), and participation of Russian scientists in international Arctic scientific organizations, etc. The university ASD is exemplified by the Russian leading universities – St. Petersburg State University, Moscow State University, Northern (Arctic) Federal University, etc. The study demonstrated that maintaining a dialogue on an ongoing basis within the framework of research and educational activities of universities can contribute to the systematic establishment of cooperation in other areas of international relations, the search for innovative solutions for the benefit of the development of the entire Arctic region.

“The Arctic constant” in the linguistic consciousness of modern student youth

Introduction. Currently, there is an unprecedented increase in interest in the Arctic issues in various fields. The analysis of scientific literature testifies to the actualization of the study the phenomenon of a region taken as a fragment of the semiosphere and the formation of Arctic regionology. The research is devoted to representing the integral image of the Arctic from the interdisciplinary perspective, as well as in the context of value-semantic narratives in science and education. The purposes of this study are to present the key features of semiotics of the circumpolar region, and to reveal its cultural-symbolic codes anchored in the linguistic consciousness of student youth in contemporary Russia. Materials and methods. The main research method used was the free associative experiment involving students of Saint Petersburg Mining University. The study took place in several stages, starting in 2021. It was attended by 400 students of different faculties, mainly aged 18 to 20 years old. The following methods were also used: enquiry-conversation, systematic pedagogical observations, theoretical analysis of scientific literature. Results. The respondents gave 2875 responses to the stimulus “the Arctic” in the course of the associative experiment. The obtained associates were distributed into 5 thematic groups, which formed the “Arctic” conceptual field. The analysis of its the core zone, the near core zone and the periphery obtained shows prevalence of emotional-sensual reactions and estimations of the severe Arctic space, which is also perceived as a place richest in natural resources, with unique conditions for all kinds of research activity. Of all the components in the framework of the “Arctic” conceptual field, the ethno-cultural and geopolitical ones, together with any spiritual-ideological connotations related, are underrepresented. The research was also verified by the free interview of students in the form of a conversation. Conclusions. The data obtained confirmed the hypothesis that the heroic narrative formed in the Soviet era is no longer the dominant category in interpreting the conceptosphere of the Arctic and the North. However, the symbolic value of the Arctic and the polar feat may become one of priority national ideas in modern Russia. The analysis of the ideological orientations of students regarding the “Arctic” conceptual field is the most important pedagogical and educational problem. It is necessary to revive educational traditions on the formation of “the Arctic consciousness” among the younger generation and develop a unified socio-humanitarian paradigm of knowledge about this unique region of the Earth.

Влияние международного дискурса Индии на арктическую политику страны

Since the 20th century, international discourse has gradually become a hot topic in the study of political science and international relations, and its impact is especially important in new areas such as space, cyberspace and polar regions, where stable rules and governance system have not yet been developed. In this paper, the influence of international discourse is classified as verbal, structural, institutional and moral. Based on this classification, the increasing influence of India's international discourse on its Arctic policy through its verbal expression, national strength, institutional involvement, and sense of values is examined. The difficulty of developing a strategy in the Arctic is due to the fact that India is not an Arctic country, so there is a cautious attitude of the world community towards it. Northern countries believe that India can use the Arctic for additional natural resources or even political benefit. In addition, there is little coverage of Arctic policy in the Indian media and government activities. Therefore, due to the possible misunderstanding by the international community of India's involvement in the Arctic and the country's weak awareness of Arctic issues, its influence on the international Arctic discourse should be improved in several ways: government officials should participate more actively in international organizations (UN, Arctic Council); the media should fully cover the country's activities in addressing Arctic issues; academically, integration of research, creation of special educational programs should be required, etc. Last but not least, the interests of Arctic Indigenous peoples should be taken into account. The resolution of all these issues can enable India to strengthen its position in the Arctic and increase the country’s potential.

Science at Stake – Russia and the Arctic Council

The discontinuation of cooperation with Russia in the Arctic Council in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine may severely impact Arctic climate science. Since its creation, the Arctic Council has been a symbol of diplomacy and values of scientific integrity. However, with all institutional research collaborations with Russia on hold and few windows open for researcher-to-researcher dialogue, the Arctic Council faces its most significant challenge to date. This article discusses possibilities for the maintenance and implementation of Arctic science with its Russian contributions and examines how conditions changed after February 24, 2022. The analysis is based on interviews with Russian researchers working on Arctic issues and participants in Arctic Council projects conducted after March 2022. The article maps out scientific practices in the Arctic Council and Russian Arctic science across three dimensions: knowledge translation, depoliticized scientific independence, and maintenance of researcher networks.

The Mulroney Government and the Problem of Sovereignty of Canada in the Arctic in 1980s

The Mulroney Government's decision to draw direct baselines around the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and explicitly assert Canadian sovereignty over these waters marked a move away from a functional approach that was aimed merely to increase Canadian control over shipping in these waters. From that time onwards, the straight baseline method has been a key element in the justification for Canadian sovereignty over the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. As the largest Arctic power with similar positions on some Arctic issues (the legal status of the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route) and a potential field of conflict of interest (the continental shelf), it is crucial for Russia to understand the nuances of Canada's position regarding its sovereignty over various types of space in the Arctic (land, sea space, continental shelf). The article draws on a wide range of sources: transcripts of debates in the House of Commons; news articles; ministerial documents and statements by their leaders; and the memoirs of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Significant among the sources are articles by Canadian lawyers of the time who substantiated the benefits for Canada of using the straight baseline method to justify its sovereignty in the Arctic. The author concludes that the measures taken by the Mulroney Government are important for the international recognition of Canadian sovereignty over the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Peculiarities of climate change in the Arctic and implications for environmental management

The Arctic is the high-latitude part of the Far North, including the land area and the Arctic Ocean marine environment within the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation. The importance of the Arctic issues is due to the fact that in the Russian Federation the formation and scientific rationale of priorities for the development of circumpolar territory are ones of the key objectives of Russia’s economic development. The study of various areas and problems of Arctic development shows the particularly crucial role of geography in the formulation and solution of national economic objectives. The role of geography is becoming increasingly important not only because of the huge impact of the geographical factor in the Far North and the Arctic, but also due to remarkable differentiation of natural and social conditions of economic activity. In recent decades, the natural and socio-economic environment in the Arctic has been undergoing rapid transformation. One example is climate change, which may have an impact on environmental management on a global scale. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the current trends of climate change based on sources and to identify the impact of these processes on the processes of environmental management.

Main Directions of Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the Arctic

The article discusses the main areas of partnership between Russia and China in the Arctic zone, and also highlights the points of contact between the two countries in the Arctic. The national interests of Beijing and Moscow in the researched region are being studied.Aim. To identify the main areas for cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the Arctic.The following methodology and methods were used: neo-institutional approach, generalization, synthesis, systems approach, analysis of documents.Results. The article considers the national interests of Russia in the Arctic, among which the main ones are political and economic: the ensuring of the sovereignty of the country, the mining of the region and the developing of the Northern Sea Route. Chinese interests in the Arctic studied. The author divided them into three groups: economic, geopolitical and ecological. The priority interests are economic ones, despite the fact that the Chinese side is trying to disguise them as ecological interests. The paper identifies six areas for further cooperation between countries in the Arctic: the development of oil and gas fields, the development of the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route and the increase in the volume and number of transportations along it, the interaction in the field of environmental protection in the Arctic, the development of critical technologies, the organization of tourism, the formation technologies for the extraction of clean energy. In addition to directions for collaboration, the author also touches upon the topic of disagreements between states on various issues, in particular on the issues of the determining of the legal regime of the territories and water areas of the Arctic, as well as the implementation of the Arctic policy by Moscow and Beijing.Conclusions. The main areas for cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic are gas and oil production in the Russian Arctic, the supply of hydrocarbons from Russia to China as a priority, as well as the improving infrastructure along the Northern Sea Route and the increasing of the number of transportation along him despite the areas for cooperation identified in the article. Contradictions can also be distinguished between countries, the main of which is the issue of the governance in the Arctic region. But we believe that Russian-Chinese relations on the Arctic issue will only strengthen in the near future, as the parties have many complementary resources for each other.

Актуальные направления арктических исследований: взгляд из Китая

The article examines promising areas of China’s research on the Arctic issues. The aim is to identify current areas of Arctic research in China based on content analysis via the CiteSpace software, and to determine the directions of Russian-Chinese cooperation in this area. Through the analysis of available publications in highly ranked Chinese journals, three most important research areas of China as a near-Arctic state have been identified, which cover the problems of climate change, development of the Arctic sea route, management of the Arctic and regional cooperation. The issues of maritime navigation in the Arctic are associated with the development of Russian-Chinese cooperation and the revival of China’s Northeast region. In the future, the focus of Arctic research in China is predicted to shift towards the economic sphere.

Петербургский международный экономический форум (ПМЭФ-2022) и его арктическая повестка

The article summarizes the results of the 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2022), which was held in St. Petersburg from June 15 to 18, 2022. As a participant of the forum, the author focuses on the analysis of Arctic issues, which were considered at the last event. They include current problems in the Arctic Council's activities, issues of the development of the Northern Sea Route, ship-building and ship repair in the Arctic, ensuring security in the region by the forces and means of the Russian EMERCOM, the state and prospects of building the international Arctic station Snezhinka, and problems of education and personnel training. Particular attention is paid to increasing the role of science, scientific and educational centers in making strategic decisions on the development of the economy, social and spiritual spheres of the Arctic territories. It is noted that, for the first time, heads of Arctic regions of the Russian Federation successfully presented investment projects in their regions at the Forum.

The politics of Arctic scales

ABSTRACT Many representations and narratives about the Arctic and Arctic politics carry misconceptions and flawed generalisations. Usually, the term ‘Arctic’ is used as an unproblematized – by default – geographical frame, without considering why this particular ‘Arctic’ framing was chosen and what this choice entails. Yet, considering geographical framing is important as the very choice behind it already carries a political agenda. This paper argues that focussing on the interplay between the different ‘scales’ of the Arctic can shed light on the politics of Arctic scales and resulting discourses. To that end, I analysed every Arctic strategy published by both Arctic and non-Arctic actors. I concentrated on strategies that specifically focused on the Arctic region as a whole, to draw comparisons from these framings. Using thematic analysis, I examined how the Arctic is construed and how the scale at which Arctic issues are framed comes with political consequences. In doing so, I wish to underline the interplay scales and underlying political processes. I conclude by stressing that recognising and attending to the production of ‘scale’ as an inherently political process greatly improves our understanding of regional politics.

Canada ane the Arctic Issue at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

Canada ane the Arctic Issue at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

Деятельность Евросоюза в Арктическом совете: проблемы и перспективы

Since 2008, the European Union has unsuccessfully tried to obtain permanent observer status in the Arctic Council, the central cooperation forum in the Arctic. The analysis shows that the EU's failures in this area are connected both with its location mostly outside of the region and remoteness from the northern realities, as well as global geopolitical tensions. However, the EU has had de facto observer ad hoc status since 2013, allowing it to participate in almost all formats of interaction in the Arctic Council. Considering this fact, the permanent observer status has rather a symbolic meaning and is equivalent to joining a kind of “privileged Arctic club”. An analysis of the EU's functioning in its relations with the Arctic Council and its members shows that the EU is ready to adapt and listen to the opinion of the Arctic countries in order to become a legitimate Arctic actor. The Arctic Council is of uneven importance for the different EU member states: Denmark, Finland and Sweden are full members, several countries are permanent observers, but most EU countries are not interested in the Arctic issues. Because of this multifaceted nature, the collective EU is more of an extra-regional player on the platform, but one with serious Arctic claims. The EU is actively working on a common Arctic policy. It is represented in the Arctic Council by the Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, introduced in 2017, who acts in coordination with the European Commission and the member states concerned. The EU's overall approach is not unsuccessful: it has managed to engage more member states on the Arctic vector, and European expertise and input on sustainable development issues is already becoming an integral part of the AC's work and promises to evolve further.

Russia’s cooperation with Asian observers to the Arctic Council

ABSTRACT Despite being regarded as non-Arctic states, a number of Asian countries have been developing their Arctic policies and activities since mid-1990s. Being interested in securing its national interests and unique status of an Arctic great power, Russia till roughly 2013 had opposed non-Arctic countries’ engagement in Arctic issues. However, since 2013, Russia has been changing its approach with regard to participation of non-Arctic states in Arctic activities, considering them as partners. This article analyzes commercial cooperation between Russia and five Asian observers to the Arctic Council in the development of Arctic natural resources and the Northern Sea Route in the years of 2013–2020. It demonstrates how Moscow finds the balance between the need to protect its national interests in the Arctic and the necessity to cooperate with Asian countries as capable of providing Russia with financial capital and advanced technologies indispensible for further Arctic development. The author characterises Russia’s current approach towards Arctic cooperation with Asian partners as cautious pragmatism − a desire to develop beneficial partnerships with non-Arctic states within certain limits in a controllable scope. The conclusions would certainly suggest that currently, despite official rhetoric and numerous publicised plans for cooperation in the Arctic, Russia’s actual commercial engagement with Asian states is still modest. So far, the most dynamic and successful cooperation was that relating to the Arctic LNG projects. Russia and its Asian counterparts have found that moving beyond political declarations might be quite difficult. The article also concludes that while all five Asian countries search for business opportunities as contractors for Russia’s Arctic projects, only few of them − China and Japan − are ready to provide investment or financing.