Andreas Østhagen – författare

This book addresses four key questions about contemporary Arctic geopolitics: How do Arctic states view security from a geopolitical perspective? What conditions could re-stabilize Arctic cooperation? What forces have shaped current Arctic dynamics? And what choices could foster future collaboration, innovation, and sustainability in the region? Geopolitical contestation resulting from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has significantly impacted cooperation between Arctic states. The suspension of the Arctic Council under Russia's chairmanship, Finland and Sweden's NATO accession, limited progress under Norway's chairship, increasing militarization in Russian and Nordic Arctic territories, expanding military exercises, and governance challenges under Denmark's new chairship represent the new realities of Arctic geopolitics. Environmental and climate threats emanating from the Arctic, once the primary concern for regional and global states, have been overshadowed by traditional hard security considerations. Consequently, the Arctic's strategic importance has grown exponentially while trust between East and West has deteriorated. Military threat perceptions between the Arctic Seven NATO members and Russia now stand at unprecedented levels. This edited volume presents diverse perspectives on how Arctic states are reassessing existing and future governance and security mechanisms in the region.This book will appeal to scholars and students of international relations, security studies, Arctic studies, and geopolitics, as well as policymakers, diplomats, and anyone interested in contemporary Arctic governance, climate security, and great power competition in polar regions.The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Strategic Analysis.

On May 18, 2022, the Swedish and Finnish NATO ambassadors formally submitted their countries’ membership applications to the alliance. In doing so, they ended decades – in Sweden’s case, centuries – of military nonalignment and overlapping but varied security arrangements in the Nordics and Baltics. Sweden and Finland, whose bilateral defense cooperation has deepened substantially in recent years, will now contribute to NATO’s defense of the Arctic and the Baltic Sea region. In this anthology, launched in cooperation between Stockholm Free World Forum and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, writers from Sweden, Finland, and beyond explore how Sweden and Finland will adapt to NATO and vice versa. The chapters deal with topics such as how Sweden and Finland will contribute to burden sharing and specialization within NATO, what lessons can be drawn from past enlargements, and how Sweden and Finland can help the alliance deal with hybrid threats.

This open access volume examines how international institutions set up to manage marine living resources are adapting to the effects of climate change on the geographic distribution of these resources.In the Barents Sea, the world’s biggest cod stock is expanding north-eastwards, while in the Nordic Seas significant changes in abundance, distribution and migration patterns can be observed in the world’s largest stocks for mackerel and herring. In the Antarctic, increasing temperatures and the associated declines in sea ice, ocean acidification and changes in circulation is likely to affect the geographical distribution of krill, the keystone species of Southern Ocean ecosystems. These developments put established international management regimes under pressure.In this interdisciplinary research volume, world-leading marine biologists, international lawyers and political scientists join efforts to study the resilience of Arctic and Antarctic marine resource management institutions to large-scale shifts of major marine stocks.The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

This timely book provides a foundational overview of the governance and geopolitics of the Arctic, an area which has moved from the margins of world politics to a region of global relevance. Identifying the main trends and drivers shaping Arctic politics, the authors move beyond a simplified portrayal to bridge regional and global dynamics and offer a nuanced understanding of what is happening in the region. Evaluating key tensions, complexities and relationships, Iselin Németh Winther and Andreas Østhagen analyse the subregions, resources, disputes, partnerships and actors that shape cooperation and competition in Arctic politics. They also look to the future with scenario-based explorations that emphasise the need for specificity, critical analysis and a multifaceted approach to studying this increasingly contested region. This book is a crucial resource for students and scholars of Arctic studies, international relations, geopolitics, political science and international law. It is also prime reading for policy analysts, legal practitioners and historians seeking a deeper understanding of the factors that are driving Arctic politics.

Offering a concise and coherent look at geopolitics and security in the Arctic, this book analyses how the High North has become central to the security interaction between NATO and Russia, and between China and the United States.Featuring contributions from top scholars in the field, the book highlights the key issues relating to the formation of Norwegian foreign and security policy in the North. Chapters examine security issues surrounding Svalbard, and how the Arctic has become integral to Norwegian security, regional development, and identity politics. Overall, this book presents a comprehensive examination of Norway’s approach to foreign policy and security issues in an area of immense strategic and ecological responsibility.With an introductory statement from the former Foreign Minister of Norway, this book will be essential reading for academics and students of European politics, human geography, international relations, Nordic studies, and political geography and geopolitics. It will also be beneficial for government officials and security personnel working on Arctic issues, and in Nordic countries and Northern Europe.

This timely book explores the nuances of the Nordic states’ approach to security in the Arctic and their relationships with NATO and the EU. Challenging generalisations of the Arctic as peaceful and self-contained, it illustrates how Arctic security is fragmented by global geopolitics and conflicting interests.Expert contributors discuss the differing security priorities and approaches across Nordic countries – the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – and assess how these are shaped by their individual relationships with both NATO and the EU, leading to a nuanced interplay of cooperation and competition. They emphasize how increased security tensions have brought Arctic security issues to the fore and encouraged the Nordic nations to adopt a more united stance in relation to Arctic security. While the book largely concentrates on military-focused and state-centric security, it also considers alternative strategies, including human and environmental security, as well as the link between different types of security and safety in the Arctic. This book is an enlightening read for scholars engaged in Arctic affairs, geopolitics, the Nordic countries, the EU and NATO. The discussions and topics tackled are also directly relevant for officials working on Arctic governance issues and international negotiations.

This timely Handbook explores how the Arctic has become a focal point in international relations in a manner unseen since the Cold War. Drawing on perspectives from international law, geopolitics, and other social sciences, this revised and expanded second edition provides an essential account of modern Arctic affairs.Including new and updated chapters on national approaches to the Arctic and the geopolitical power play that is unfolding, expert authors analyse the relations between China, Russia, and the West in the Arctic. They assess the role of NATO and the significance of critical minerals in the discussion around Greenland’s autonomy. Chapters cover the role of conferences in Arctic governance, and local governments’ participation in issues spanning politics, indigenous challenges, and the private sustainability certification of Arctic fisheries. With geopolitics taking centre stage in this new edition, contributors examine the impact of Russo-Chinese cooperation in the Arctic, as well as security dynamics and colonial legacies in the region.Students and scholars in Arctic politics, environmental politics and law, and political geography and geopolitics will benefit from this Handbook’s invaluable insights. It is also an essential resource for policymakers, government officials, and NGOs involved in this key area.

In an era of turbulent ocean geopolitics, where environmental concerns and resource extraction are increasing interest in who owns what at sea, this timely book examines the international politics involved in how states delineate ownership and rights in the ocean. Analysing why some states settle their maritime boundary disputes and why others erupt into conflict, Andreas Østhagen uses the innovative approach of combining international law and international relations theory to examine four countries and their maritime disputes: Australia, Canada, Colombia and Norway. With a focus on marine resources, chapters unpack the dispute dynamics concerning offshore oil and gas, fisheries, and strategic security concerns. Through an examination of what led these states to settle their disputes, this innovative book delineates the wider political and legal factors behind boundary-making at sea and aims to improve the way that society resolves ocean conflicts. Navigating the complexities of international law and conflict resolution at sea, this book will prove a thought-provoking read for students and scholars of geopolitics and law. With ocean-governance an increasingly pressing matter on the political agenda of international negotiations such as UN Climate Change conferences, it will also prove an informative resource for officials engaged in ocean affairs, geopolitics, and the law of the sea.

This book is about how coast guards are becoming states’ foremost tool to manage changes occurring in ocean politics generally, and in the Arctic specifically. It looks at states’ rights at sea, changes occurring in the Arctic region, how coast guards are handling issues arising, and how international cooperation can deal with some of the related challenges.