International Cooperation and Arctic Governance

Book excerpt: A new exploration of the impacts of Arctic regimes in such vital areas as pollution, biodiversity, indigenous affairs, health and climate change. The post-Cold War era has seen an upsurge in interest in Arctic affairs. With new international regimes targeting Arctic issues at both the global and regional levels, the Northern areas seem set to play an increasingly prominent role in the domestic and foreign policies of the Arctic states and actors – not least Russia, the USA and the EU. This volume clearly distinguishes between three key kinds of impact: effectiveness, defined as mitigation or removal of specific problems addressed by a regime political mobilization, highlighting changes in the pattern of involvement and influence in decision making on Arctic affairs region building, understood as contributions by Arctic institutions to denser interactive or discursive connectedness among the inhabitants of the region. Empirically, the main focus is on three institutions: the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. International Cooperation and Arctic Governance is essential reading for all students with an interest in Arctic affairs and their impact on global society.