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NATO and a New Agenda for the Arctic

By Alexander Shaparov

The Arctic region is turning into an area of protracted geopolitical rivalry. This rivalry will not necessarily be expressed in any military confrontation, but rather will take the form of economic, technological and political competition. In this context, the states involved will be ever less prepared to opt for compromise in upholding their national interests within international organizations. NATO’s increasing activity in the Arctic will lead to transfiguration in relations in the area of international security, with new challenges and opportunities emerging for Russia. READ MORE

Greenland and the Arctic: Still a role for the EU

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As the financing of major projects in Greenland will probably come from Asia and given Greenland’s characteristics, the self-ruled territory needs to strengthen its political ties with its direct neighbourhood and historical partners: the Nordic region, the European Union and the United States, writes Damien Degeorges. READ MORE

Shell against the Arctic: the first round loss

By Rimvydas Ragauskas

On the eve of the New Year  the mobile Kulluk drill ship owned by the energy company Shell ran aground in the Gulf of Alaska, near Kodiak Island. This made reconsider the readiness of oil companies to pursue drilling operations under extreme harsh weather conditions. Due to Shell‘s failures Norwegian Statoil is going to postpone the beginning of drilling in the Chukchi Sea, whereas the French Total announced that the risk of an oil spill in such an environmentally sensitive area was too high to start drilling in the Arctic.   READ MORE

The New Maritime Arctic

By Caitlyn Antrim

Russian geopolitics of the 21st century will be different from the days of empire and conflict of the nineteenth and twentieth. The increased accessibility of the Arctic, with its energy and mineral resources, new fisheries, shortened sea routes and shipping along the rivers between the Arctic coast and the Eurasian heartland, is both enabling and propelling Russia to become a major maritime state. READ MORE

Ottawa Holds Talks With Russia As Norway Signs Accord

By Olivia Ward

Frosty diplomatic relations were thawing like Arctic ice as Norway reached a landmark deal with Russia this week over a 40-year-old Barents Sea boundary dispute, and Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon held cordial meetings Thursday with Russian officials in Moscow. READ MORE