Red Arctic

Elizabeth Buchanan is Head of Navy Research at the Royal Australian Navy’s Sea Power Centre. Dr. Buchanan holds a PhD in Russian Arctic Strategy under Putin, specializes in polar geopolitics and is a Non-Resident Fellow of the Modern War Institute at West Point Military Academy. She is an Affiliate of the US Department of Defense’s George Marshall Center.

Buchanan (Modern War Institute West Point) observes that most analyses of conflict in the Arctic read like "Tom Clancy ... on steroids" (p. viii). Her mission is to put those stories where they belong: in the fiction section. Despite Russia's war in Ukraine and general antagonism to the West, the most remarkable story from the Arctic is how little the Ukrainian conflict has affected a long-standing policy of cooperation and commercial partnerships in the North. Russia needs a stable, orderly Arctic—a trend reflected from the Cold War to today. This geo-economic reality—the need for continued access to oil and natural gas—tempers and transcends Russia's ambitions elsewhere. Buchanan examines how Putin moved from the recentralization of control to the nationalization of resources to modernization to, finally, great power assertiveness without threatening the Arctic governance structure as manifested in international law and the role of the Arctic Council. She explores how this has played out in the Barents Sea and in negotiations between Norway and Russia. Though the war affects these issues—primarily through sanctions—it does not affect the central truth: in the long run, the Arctic is the future resource base of Russia. Conflict and cooperation will occur—just as it does everywhere else—but not military action. Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.