Summary: | With this book, we want to offer a comprehensive and inter-disciplinary approach to the globalized Arctic, something we have labelled the GlobalArctic. By that we mean the Arctic as a geographical region, which, by now has become part and parcel of the globalized world in all its dimensions, be it ecological economic, geo-political and cultural. Having entered this globalized world, the Arctic is, in turn, actively contributing to further globalization. But with this book we also want to offer a structured methodology for studying the Arctic in its global context. In particular, we want to analyze the two-way interconnections between global and Arctic processes: global impacts within, and worldwide implications of the Arctic. As such, our book pursues the following three aims: First and foremost, we want to contribute to conceptualizing the Arctic as a multifaceted region within a changing global context, both being affected by it and affecting it; Secondly, our aim is to describe the major drivers of this GlobalArctic dynamics, namely ecological changes, changes in resources extraction practices and corresponding infrastructure development, including urbanization, as well as changes in geopolitical configurations, along with changes in Arctic economies, societies and cultures; and Thirdly, the purpose of this book is to define, analyze and discuss concrete ways to address these changes in the GlobalArctic, including mitigation, adaptation, and resilience-building. This, with the aim of offering the relevant GlobalArctic stakeholders innovative approaches, methods, best practices and solutions to addressing these unprecedented dynamics. Here the GlobalArctic is a (new) geopolitical context.
|