The Geopolitical Landscape of the Arctic
Important players and policy developments in the Arctic region
Following the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and particularly after the founding of the Arctic Council in 1996, the Arctic states sought to maintain the Arctic as a region of cooperation, low tension, peaceful resolution of disputes and respect for international law—an approach sometimes referred to as the “Arctic spirit” or “High North, low tension.” The Nordic countries in particular were committed to this approach. Over the past 10 to 15 years, the emergence of great power competition (also called strategic competition) between the United States, Russia and China has introduced elements of…
