Arctic Security

Mikkel Runge Olesen og Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen argue in a new article that the Arctic, seen in a vacuum, is marked by regional characteristics that make cooperation more likely than conflict. This is especially due to the fact that the most important known accessible resource deposits have already been divided between the Arctic states. Furthermore, existing boundaries have already insured Russia the lion’s share in the Arctic. The state most often cast in the role of the possible villain in the Arctic, therefore, has the greatest interest in Arctic stability. For without stability resource extraction becomes very difficult.

The Arctic, however, cannot be seen in a vacuum. Rather, the most serious challenge to Arctic security stems from outside the region itself – from the crisis in Ukraine. This has especially been the case since recent Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine begun to target the Russian oil and gas industry in the Arctic. It is a dangerous development because such sanctions thereby threaten the very foundation for Russian interest in Arctic stability. Necessary, perhaps, in order to punish Russia over Ukraine. But the possible negative consequences for the otherwise quite stable Arctic region should not be underestimated.