Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council
Abstract Despite its numerous valuable contributions to Arctic governance, throughout its history the Arctic Council (AC) has been subject to criticism and reform proposals from academic, non-governmental and practitioner communities alike. In order to inform this ongoing debate, the paper evaluates...
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2019
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000263 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000263 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247419000263 2024-03-03T08:40:21+00:00 Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council Smieszek, Malgorzata 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000263 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000263 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 55, issue 3, page 121-131 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2019 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000263 2024-02-08T08:34:25Z Abstract Despite its numerous valuable contributions to Arctic governance, throughout its history the Arctic Council (AC) has been subject to criticism and reform proposals from academic, non-governmental and practitioner communities alike. In order to inform this ongoing debate, the paper evaluates the proposals that have been presented for the AC thus far. The proposals are grouped into three clusters: legal reforms, organisational reforms and functional reforms. Each of them is examined in terms of its applicability and usefulness to the case of the AC, and specifically its suitability given the prevailing conditions in the Arctic. What the conducted analysis reveals is that the ideas regarding means to enhance the AC’s effectiveness can be largely attributed to the assumptions their proponents make—oftentimes implicitly—about the nature of state actors and international relations more broadly, without attending to the particular conditions of the case study at hand. This is an important inference, given the unrelenting change happening in both Arctic and global socio-environmental settings that calls into question the usefulness of past modes of thinking and forms of international cooperation. Far from offering solutions, their continuous application in particular circumstances might even impede progress in addressing present and future challenges. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Council Arctic Polar Record Cambridge University Press Arctic Polar Record 55 3 121 131 |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
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English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Smieszek, Malgorzata Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Abstract Despite its numerous valuable contributions to Arctic governance, throughout its history the Arctic Council (AC) has been subject to criticism and reform proposals from academic, non-governmental and practitioner communities alike. In order to inform this ongoing debate, the paper evaluates the proposals that have been presented for the AC thus far. The proposals are grouped into three clusters: legal reforms, organisational reforms and functional reforms. Each of them is examined in terms of its applicability and usefulness to the case of the AC, and specifically its suitability given the prevailing conditions in the Arctic. What the conducted analysis reveals is that the ideas regarding means to enhance the AC’s effectiveness can be largely attributed to the assumptions their proponents make—oftentimes implicitly—about the nature of state actors and international relations more broadly, without attending to the particular conditions of the case study at hand. This is an important inference, given the unrelenting change happening in both Arctic and global socio-environmental settings that calls into question the usefulness of past modes of thinking and forms of international cooperation. Far from offering solutions, their continuous application in particular circumstances might even impede progress in addressing present and future challenges. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Smieszek, Malgorzata |
author_facet |
Smieszek, Malgorzata |
author_sort |
Smieszek, Malgorzata |
title |
Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
title_short |
Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
title_full |
Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
title_fullStr |
Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
title_full_unstemmed |
Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council |
title_sort |
do the cures match the problem? reforming the arctic council |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000263 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000263 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Council Arctic Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Arctic Council Arctic Polar Record |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 55, issue 3, page 121-131 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000263 |
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Polar Record |
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55 |
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3 |
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121 |
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131 |
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