China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry
There are growing signs that great power rivalry is making a comeback in the Arctic region, and China, a self-proclaimed “near-Arctic state,” has shown growing interest in expanding its activity in it. This article investigates China’s Arctic intentions in the context of the recently emerging notion...
Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.196 https://doaj.org/article/fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 2024-02-11T09:59:55+01:00 China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry Matti Puranen Sanna Kopra 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.196 https://doaj.org/article/fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 EN eng Scandinavian Military Studies https://account.sjms.nu/index.php/sms-j-sjms/article/view/196 https://doaj.org/toc/2596-3856 2596-3856 doi:10.31374/sjms.196 https://doaj.org/article/fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 239–253-239–253 (2023) china arctic strategy international relations geopolitics Military Science U article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.196 2024-01-21T01:40:45Z There are growing signs that great power rivalry is making a comeback in the Arctic region, and China, a self-proclaimed “near-Arctic state,” has shown growing interest in expanding its activity in it. This article investigates China’s Arctic intentions in the context of the recently emerging notion of “total national security” in the country, and suggests that individual aspects of China’s Arctic strategy – including its Arctic military strategy – should not be analyzed on their own but should, rather, be seen as a manifestation of China’s rather unique total security conception in a regional context. Drawing insights from original, official, Chinese-language sources, discussions on China’s Arctic strategy among Chinese security experts and academic communities, and by observing recent Chinese economic, political, and scientific activities in the Arctic, the article demonstrates that China’s Arctic strategy follows what we describe as a “comprehensive approach” consisting of four main arms: political, economic, scientific, and military. This strategy is designed to advance the party-state’s influence in the Arctic through simultaneously moulding discourses and challenging legal concepts of the Arctic (political), boosting its economic interests in the Arctic (economic), fusing civil-military scientific and technological innovation (scientific), and preparing for a military presence in the Arctic (military). Finally, the article concludes that as the significance of the Arctic for China’s long-term security strategy is guided by Xi Jinping’s thought on total national security, future analyses of China’s Arctic intentions should pay particular attention to this evolving concept. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies 6 1 239 253 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
china arctic strategy international relations geopolitics Military Science U |
spellingShingle |
china arctic strategy international relations geopolitics Military Science U Matti Puranen Sanna Kopra China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
topic_facet |
china arctic strategy international relations geopolitics Military Science U |
description |
There are growing signs that great power rivalry is making a comeback in the Arctic region, and China, a self-proclaimed “near-Arctic state,” has shown growing interest in expanding its activity in it. This article investigates China’s Arctic intentions in the context of the recently emerging notion of “total national security” in the country, and suggests that individual aspects of China’s Arctic strategy – including its Arctic military strategy – should not be analyzed on their own but should, rather, be seen as a manifestation of China’s rather unique total security conception in a regional context. Drawing insights from original, official, Chinese-language sources, discussions on China’s Arctic strategy among Chinese security experts and academic communities, and by observing recent Chinese economic, political, and scientific activities in the Arctic, the article demonstrates that China’s Arctic strategy follows what we describe as a “comprehensive approach” consisting of four main arms: political, economic, scientific, and military. This strategy is designed to advance the party-state’s influence in the Arctic through simultaneously moulding discourses and challenging legal concepts of the Arctic (political), boosting its economic interests in the Arctic (economic), fusing civil-military scientific and technological innovation (scientific), and preparing for a military presence in the Arctic (military). Finally, the article concludes that as the significance of the Arctic for China’s long-term security strategy is guided by Xi Jinping’s thought on total national security, future analyses of China’s Arctic intentions should pay particular attention to this evolving concept. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Matti Puranen Sanna Kopra |
author_facet |
Matti Puranen Sanna Kopra |
author_sort |
Matti Puranen |
title |
China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
title_short |
China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
title_full |
China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
title_fullStr |
China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
title_full_unstemmed |
China’s Arctic Strategy – a Comprehensive Approach in Times of Great Power Rivalry |
title_sort |
china’s arctic strategy – a comprehensive approach in times of great power rivalry |
publisher |
Scandinavian Military Studies |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.196 https://doaj.org/article/fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 239–253-239–253 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://account.sjms.nu/index.php/sms-j-sjms/article/view/196 https://doaj.org/toc/2596-3856 2596-3856 doi:10.31374/sjms.196 https://doaj.org/article/fb287164ebcb4c6e8f6451c5886b61c0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.196 |
container_title |
Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
239 |
op_container_end_page |
253 |
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