POLAR PERSPECTIVES - The “New” Arctic as a Zone of Peaceful Competition

THE ARCTIC IN THE 2020s • Some see this “new” Arctic becoming a zone of conflict; others Conditions arising in the Arctic today differ react to these developments by substantially from those prevailing in the doubling down on the view of the aftermath of the Cold War, when the Arctic Arctic as a zone of peace. [...] the extent that the United States was active on the But in the 1990s, Russia was struggling to come international stage during the 1990s, the center to terms with the impacts of the collapse of the of attention was the consolidation of the nuclear Soviet Union. [...] So far, the activities of monitoring, and the incubation of innovative policy the mechanism have been confined to organizing initiatives, the key to the success of the Arctic webinars dealing with a range of marine issues Council lies in the work of the Council’s working of current interest (e.g. [...] To illustrate, consider the work of the Arctic To achieve a distinct and lasting place in the Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) in architecture of the Arctic Council, the SMM must enhancing understanding of the role of the Arctic take advantage of the convening power of the in the Earth’s climate system; the initiatives of the Council to provide a venue in which a wide range Working Group. [...] framing issues for treatment in the IMO; and the efforts of the Working Group on the Conservation An important development in the practices of the of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) in incubating the Arctic Council dating from 2009 centers on the Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative.