Geopolitical tensions framing different industries in the European Arctic: aquaculture, forestry, mining, and tourism in question

• Published in: Journal of Land Use Science
• Main Authors: Leena Suopajärvi, Juulia Tikkanen, Anna Guðrún Edvardsdóttir, Sigrid Engen, Esa Inkilä, Audun Iversen, Vigdis Nygaard, Rannveig Ólafsdóttir
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024
• Subjects: Classical geopolitics; European Arctic; aquaculture; forestry; mining; tourism; Land use; HD101-1395.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2024.2357576; https://doaj.org/article/e92e70e33566499e876b7bf40bc2ed68

ABSTRACTRussia’s full-scale war on Ukraine in early 2022 has brought geopolitics, particularly classical geopolitics, back into the political and economic discussions and decision-making. Discursive, as well as real-world change, has been rapid, as the turn of the 21st century was the time of globalisation and neoliberal ideology – the free movement of people, products, and services. However, in this paper, we argue that classical geopolitics has defined the development of Northern industries even before the war began in 2022. Our interview data (n = 60) collected in the advent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine reveal that the themes of state power; ‘hard’ security meaning military armament; the economy as a field of national interests; and spill-over effects of geopolitical tensions between superpowers have framed economic fortunes in the European Arctic. It is concluded that the state actors’ interests in the European Arctic’s physical space and natural assets will be increasingly expanding.