The UK’s interests in the Arctic

• Published in: Arctic and North
• Main Authors: Andrey A. Todorov, Dmitriy N. Lyzhin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Northern Arctic Federal University 2019
• Subjects: the uk; the arctic; russia; international cooperation in the arctic; navigation; security; oil and gas; the arctic council; Social Sciences; H; Arctic; Arctic Council; Climate change
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2221-2698.2019.36.84; https://doaj.org/article/59739cadf0c544c3a6badc8228a07a2c

The article analyzes the priorities of British policy in the Arctic. The UK has a long tradition of studying the Arctic and is one of the first observer countries of the Arctic Council. At the same time, the Arctic strategy of London has undergone several significant changes, which are a natural reaction to the changing situation in the region. An analysis of the British Foreign Ministry report 2018 reveals four primary areas of the UK's interest in the Arctic. First, the country's economy continues to rely heavily on the hydro-carbon and bioresources of the Arctic. Secondly, after the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis and in the conditions of deteriorating relations with Moscow, the British authorities have begun to pay more attention to the security, primarily the military one. Third, an important direction of the UK Arctic policy is to solve the problem of climate change since the country considered one of the world leaders in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, the development of international cooperation in the region based on scientific diplomacy is one of the priorities of British Arctic politics. However, despite the official documents fixing the priorities of the UK’s Arctic strategy, London’s Arctic policy is passive. This fact is a reason for British expert criticism.