The Arctic has, for some forty years, been among the most innovative policy environments in the world. The region has developed impressive systems for intra-regional cooperation, responded to the challenges of the rapid environmental change, empowered and engaged with Indigenous peoples, and dealt with the multiple challenges of natural resource development. The Palgrave Handbook on Arctic Policy and Politics has drawn on scholars from many countries and academic disciplines to focus on the central theme of Arctic policy innovation. The portrait that emerges from these chapters is of a complex, fluid policy environment, shaped by internal, national and global dynamics and by a wide range of political, legal, economic, and social transitions. The Arctic is a complex place from a political perspective and is on the verge of becoming even more so. Effective, proactive and forward-looking policy innovation will be required if the Far North is to be able to address its challenges and capitalize on its opportunities.

Against the backdrop of climate change and tectonic political shifts in world politics, this handbook provides an overview of the most crucial geopolitical and security related issues in the Arctic. It discusses established shareholder's policies in the Arctic – those of Russia, Canada, the USA, Denmark, and Norway – as well as the politics and interests of other significant or future stakeholders, including China and India. Furthermore, it explains the economic situation and the legal framework that governs the Arctic, and the claims that Arctic states have made in order to expand their territories and exclusive economic zones. While illustrating the collaborative approach, represented by institutions such as the Arctic council, which has often been described as an exceptional institution in this region, the contributing authors examine potential resource and power conflicts between Arctic nations, due to competing interests. The authors also address topics such as changing alliances between Arctic nations, new sea lines of communication, technological shifts, and eventually the return to power politics in the area. Written by experts on international security studies and the Arctic, as well as practitioners from government institutions and international organizations, the book provides an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in geopolitical shifts and security issues in the High North.

The Arctic has again become one of the leading issues on the international foreign policy agenda, in a manner unseen since the Cold War. Drawing on the perspectives of geo-politics and international law, this Handbook offers fresh insights and perspectives on the most pressing issues, grouped under the headings of political ascendancy, climate and environmental issues, resources and energy, and the response and policies of affected countries.

The Routledge Handbook of the Polar Regions is an authoritative guide to the Arctic and the Antarctic through an exploration of key areas of research in the physical and natural sciences and the social sciences and humanities. It presents 38 new and original contributions from leading figures and voices in polar research, policy and practice, as well as work from emerging scholars. This handbook aims to approach and understand the Polar Regions as places that are at the forefront of global conversations about some of the most pressing contemporary issues and research questions of our age. The volume provides a discussion of the similarities and differences between the two regions to help deepen understanding and knowledge. Major themes and issues are integrated in the comprehensive introduction chapter by the editors, who are top researchers in their respective fields. The contributions show how polar researchers engage with contemporary debates and use interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to address new developments as well as map out exciting trajectories for future work in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The handbook provides an easy access to key items of scholarly literature and material otherwise inaccessible or scattered throughout a variety of specialist journals and books. A unique one-stop research resource for researchers and policymakers with an interest in the Arctic and Antarctic, it is also a comprehensive reference work for graduate and advanced undergraduate students.

In one hundred years, or even fifty, the Arctic will look dramatically different than it does today. As polar ice retreats and animals and plants migrate northward, the arctic landscape is morphing into something new and very different from what it once was. While these changes may seem remote, they will have a profound impact on a host of global issues, from international politics to animal migrations. In Future Arctic, journalist and explorer Edward Struzik offers a clear-eyed look at the rapidly shifting dynamics in the Arctic region, a harbinger of changes that will reverberate throughout our entire world. Future Arctic reveals the inside story of how politics and climate change are altering the polar world in a way that will have profound effects on economics, culture, and the environment as we know it. Struzik takes readers up mountains and cliffs, and along for the ride on snowmobiles and helicopters, sailboats and icebreakers. His travel companions, from wildlife scientists to military strategists to indigenous peoples, share diverse insights into the science, culture and geopolitical tensions of this captivating place. With their help, Struzik begins piecing together an environmental puzzle: How might the land’s most iconic species—caribou, polar bears, narwhal—survive? Where will migrating birds flock to? How will ocean currents shift? And what fundamental changes will oil and gas exploration have on economies and ecosystems? How will vast unclaimed regions of the Arctic be divided? A unique combination of extensive on-the-ground research, compelling storytelling, and policy analysis, Future Arctic offers a new look at the changes occurring in this remote, mysterious region and their far-reaching effects.

The Routledge Handbook of Arctic Security offers a comprehensive examination of security in the region, encompassing both state-based and militarized notions of security, as well as broader security perspectives reflecting debates about changes in climate, environment, economies, and societies. Since the turn of the century, the Arctic has increasingly been in the global spotlight, resulting in the often invoked idea of “Arctic exceptionalism” being questioned. At the same time, the unconventional political power which the Arctic’s Indigenous peoples hold calls into question conventional ideas about geopolitics and security. This handbook examines security in this region, revealing contestations and complementarities between narrower, state-based and/or militarized notions of security and broader security perspectives reflecting concerns and debates about changes in climate, environment, economies, and societies. The volume is split into five thematic parts: • Theorizing Arctic Security • The Arctic Powers • Security in the Arctic through Governance • Non-Arctic States, Regional and International Organizations • People, States, and Security. This book will be of great interest to students of Arctic politics, global governance, geography, security studies, and International Relations.

This book offers a systematic and comprehensive introduction to the Arctic in the era of globalization, or as it is referred to here, the ‘GlobalArctic’. It provides an overview of the current status of the Arctic as a result of global change, while also considering the changes in the Arctic that have a global effect. It positions the Arctic within a broad international context, it addresses four main themes are discussed: economics and resources; environment and earth system dynamics; peoples and cultures; and geopolitics and governance. Gathering together expert authors and building on long-term research activities, it serves as a valuable reference for future research endeavors.