Matthias P. Finger received a PhD in Education in 1986 and a PhD in Political Science in 1988, both from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He was an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University, an Associate Professor at Columbia University, a Full Professor at the Swiss Graduate Institute of Public Administration and, since 2002, he has been a Full Professor and Chair at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Professor Finger’s achievements in research, teaching, and service are considerable.  Dr. Lassi Heininen is a Professor of Arctic Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland (Finland). His other academic positions include Adjunct Professor (Docent) at the University of Oulu (Finland) and Trent University (Ontario, Canada), Visiting Professor at the University of Akureyri (Iceland), and Director of the International Summer School in Karelia at Petrozavodsk State University (Russia). He is also Chairman ofCalotte Academy and the Northern Research Forum’s Steering Committee, Head of the Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security Studies (a joint TN between NRF and UArctic), and the Editor of the Arctic Yearbook, an international, peer-reviewed online publication.

• Introduction.- Section 1 Economics and resources.- Section 2 Environment/Earth system dynamics.- Section 3 Geopolitics and governance.- Section 4 Peoples and cultures.- Conclusion.