| Summary: | The importance of the High North to Iceland has increased in the last decade. With Arctic sea ice melting at an ever increasing rate the possibility of hydrocarbon extraction and opening shipping lanes has become very real and a debate has already begun over how best to manage the opportunities that will bring to the shores of Iceland. But the transforming Arctic also poses a real danger for the nation. With escalating human activities the risk of environmental disasters and oil spills in the region is increasing, with potentially calamitous repercussions on Icelandic biodiversity and ecological equilibrium. These are not the only changes Iceland needs to adapt to. Distant powers have stepped onto the Arctic stage vying for influence in a region that hitherto had been of no concern to them. This has already begun altering the geopolitical realities of the Arctic. Of those distant powers China is by far the biggest. With its ever spreading global influence and economic clout China has now set out on the long march north where it hopes to significantly influence the geopolitical landscape. Iceland´s future potential in the Arctic is intrinsically tied into the uncertainties of resource extraction and Arctic shipping, but these changes could also endanger Icelandic fisheries in ways that are still unknown. These two utterly disparate counties will, albeit disproportionally, influence each other in their respective pursuit of perceived interests, which will either strengthen or inhibit their capabilities in the region. This paper will attempt to shed some light on their differing perspectives in the realms of Arctic shipping, resource extraction and fishing, as well as analyse where their interests coincide and where they diverge, before ultimately assessing if the future will behold closer cooperation or increased confrontation. Mikilvægi Norðurslóðanna fyrir Ísland hefur aukist hröðum síðasta áratuginn. Með sífellt vaxandi bráðnun hafíss við Norðurskautið aukast möguleikar á jarðefnanýtingu og opnun ...
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