The impacts of climate change on environmental geopolitics of the Arctic

The new fact that the environment is becoming the main factor of geopolitical transformations in the Arctic region has been triggered mainly by climate change. In the North, this recent aspect of geopolitics, in correlation with the environment, leads sometimes to tensions between countries, but als...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pelletier, Mireille
Other Authors: Landovský, Jakub, Romancov, Michael
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Univerzita Karlova, Fakulta sociálních věd 2013
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11956/55739
Description
Summary:The new fact that the environment is becoming the main factor of geopolitical transformations in the Arctic region has been triggered mainly by climate change. In the North, this recent aspect of geopolitics, in correlation with the environment, leads sometimes to tensions between countries, but also to a need for cooperation. The question brought by such conditions is, to which extent will this climate change provoke cooperation or conflicts between the Arctic states. The purpose of addressing the problem is to understand what kind of challenges would be facing the international relations between circumpolar countries and how the environment is playing a geopolitical role in them. The objective of the main research question is to assess the importance of climate change over the geopolitics of the Arctic through several spheres of geopolitics: environment and bio-diversity, economic activity of the region, sovereignty and territoriality, security of the circumpolar states, and international and diplomatic relations. The trans-border and transnational nature of environmental issues is another important factor, since nature does not respect human-made boundaries and an environmental concern, such as climate change and its aftermaths, cannot be exclusive to a state along the lines of its borders. Katedra politologie Department of Political Science Fakulta sociálních věd Faculty of Social Sciences