Arctic Security: A Global Challenge

• Main Author: Marsili, Marco
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: arctic; russia; china; european union (EU); NATO; security; defence; polar routes; arctic ocean; Northern Sea Route (NSR); Northeast Passage (NEP); Northwest Passage (NWP); Transpolar Route (TSR); North Pole; Arctic Bridge Route; Arctic Sea Bridge; Arctic Bridge Route (ABR); Pacific Ocean; Alaska; Canada; United States (US); United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); Arctic Council (AC); International Maritime Organization (IMO); Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC); Partnership for Peace (PfP); Norway; Denmark; Finland; Sweden; Iceland; North Atlantic Cooperation Council; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); Ottawa Declaration; PACE PA; Geneva Conventions; Polar Silk Road' (PSR); Ice Silk Road (ISR); Maritime Silk Road (MRS); icebreaker; Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP); Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Pacific; Northwest Passage; Arctic Council; Law of the Sea; North Atlantic; Northeast Passage; Northern Sea Route; Northwest passage
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/7079289; https://doi.org/10.1177/09735984221120299

Arctic security is a main security challenge—a global one, not only a regional one—not only for the Arctic countries, but for the whole international community, first of all Europe. With the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China expanding their role in the area, and the difficulty of finding an undisputed governance on maritime routes and economic exploitation of resources, there is the risk of militarization of the Arctic. After briefly summarizing current and future challenges in the Arctic, this article analyzes the limits due to a deficit of suitable instruments to maintain security in the region, especially in relation to the role of international intergovernmental organizations, and it suggests some remedies to overcome these deficiencies. Paper presented at the 7th Lisbon International Arctic Conference and Workshop, held at the Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas (ISCSP), Universidade de Lisboa (School of Social and Political Sciences of the University of Lisbon, ISCSP-ULisboa), on December 13, 2019. The author gratefully acknowledges the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for supporting this work through grant SFRH/BD/136170/2018.