May 20, 2021

Rising Challenges for the Arctic Council: Between a Great Power Competition and Multilateralism?

The Arctic Council is the preeminent international organization for coordinating sustainable development and environmental issues in the Arctic. Now, increasing commercial and military activity in the region risks distracting from the climate emergency.
Feb 16, 2021

Eyes on the Prize: Australia, China, and the Antarctic Treaty System 

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) serves Australia’s interests and upholds science-driven norms while dampening China’s efforts to access Western technology and exploit fisheries. Countries should safeguard the ATS amid rising geopolitical competition.
Dec 18, 2019

Global Powers and the Arctic: Growing Cooperation or Contestation?

While climate change opens up the Arctic to more commercial and military activities, there is an increasing potential for rivalry between the major powers.
Nov 14, 2019

Polar Power USA: Full Steam Ahead into the Arctic

This discusses the benefits and disadvantages to the Trump administration’s approach to the Arctic and argues that the region is an arena for great powers to exert their hegemonic influence.
Oct 16, 2019

Climate Change and Global Warming: Singapore and the Arctic

The latest report by the UN IPCC has added urgency to the need to address enduring changes in the world’s oceans. This examines how rapid changes in the Arctic will take place, having important implications for Singapore.
Sep 11, 2019

Can the EU’s Arctic Policy Find True North?

Recent physical and political changes in the Arctic have ripple effects on Europe. This attempts to answer what the EU should do about these developments and if there is a need for an update of its Arctic policies.
Nov 29, 2018

Arctic Governance: Challenges and Opportunities

As national governments, international institutions, and nonstate actors explore different approaches to Arctic governance, a cohesive approach is necessary to address the environmental, economic, sociocultural, and geopolitical challenges this region faces. This paper has benefited from numerous comments and suggestion...
Nov 06, 2018

No Cold Feet: The UK’s new Arctic Defense Strategy

This piece assesses that climate change and the threat from Russia are refocusing the UK’s defense strategy in the Arctic.
Jan 29, 2018

China Strives to Become a Constructive Arctic Partner

China’s newly published white paper on Arctic policy defines China as an important stakeholder and expresses the need for greater inter-state cooperation to balance human involvement and environmental protection.
Feb 03, 2016

Offshore Hydrocarbon Resources in the Arctic

The paper discusses the increasing levels of instability in both economics and politics in the Arctic and the mutually reinforcing effects on international politics. The authors conclude that there is a “loss of a cooperative spirit,” which works against