Safeguarding Canadian arctic sovereignty against conventional threats.

• Main Author: Abboud, Dave
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Fort Leavenworth, KS : US Army Command and General Staff College 2009
• Subjects: Canada; Arctic regions; Threats; Sovereignty; Military operations; Climatic changes; Climate change; Military capability; Conflict; International relations; Arctic; Law of the Sea
• Online Access: http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4013coll2/id/2490

The effects of climate change as well as national interests over control of vast amounts of natural resources in the Arctic seem to be destabilizing the geostrategic environment involving the circumpolar states. A traditional conflict scenario in the near future is not out of the question, particularly if the legal framework governing the region, the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty, is proved inadequate to address the full range of issues in the region and fails to resolve territorial claims. Canada has ongoing disputes in the Arctic region with the United States, Russia, and Denmark, and has recently reaffirmed its commitment to its national sovereignty. Based on an analysis of military capabilities for Arctic operations as well as a qualitative comparison between each of these countries, this study establishes that Canada does not have the necessary military capabilities to deter and counter conventional threats to its sovereignty in the Arctic. Consequently, Canada should leverage the other means of national power, specifically its existing multilateral security and defense agreements, to ensure its sovereignty in the Arctic.