Geopolitics and Geostrategy of the GIUK Gap: Rising Stakes in a Strategic Sea Corridor

• Published in: Obrana a strategie (Defence and Strategy)
• Main Author: Matěj Prášil
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Czech; English; Slovak
• Published: University of Defence 2024
• Subjects: giuk; arctic; high north; nato; russian federation; balance of threat; power; Military Science; U; Greenland; Iceland; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3849/1802-7199.24.2024.01.061-086; https://doaj.org/article/79f6d8ff635746b9b534eb63d190d696

This study explores the geopolitical and geostrategic significance of the GIUK (Greenland, Iceland, United Kingdom) Gap, a region of the North Atlantic Ocean between those respective islands, part of the broader Arctic realm known as the High North. It begins with a short overview of the historical development of the GIUK Gap's geopolitical and geostrategic significance, followed by an analysis of the region's current geopolitical and geostrategic dynamics. For the analysis, Walt’s balance of threat was employed as a neorealistic theoretical framework, with four specific variables chosen. This theory assumes that states try to balance potential threats. The study highlights the growing importance of the GIUK Gap for both NATO and the Russian Federation, whose interests have increasingly clashed in recent years. The paper argues that the deteriorating relations between NATO and Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 have causally contributed to the growing importance of the GIUK Gap.