The Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement: Text, Framing and Logics

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corine Wood-Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
Maritime Search And Rescue ◽  
The Arctic Region

Abstract The 2011 ‘Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic’ (henceforth SAR Agreement) is the first instrument of hard law produced by the eight states of the Arctic Council. While the agreement ostensibly addresses search and rescue related issues for the Arctic region, it is capable of being understood in a variety of legal, political and cultural contexts. Three elements are teased out in particular – the SAR Agreement as a legal policy document, as indicative of evolving Arctic international relations, and as indicative of particular geopolitical logics. As the paper concludes, however, the SAR Agreement has not been entirely free of political intrigue.

THE ROLE AND PLACE OF SECURITY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN THE ARCTIC REGION

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
А.Д. ЛУКИН
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
The Arctic Region

Статья рассматривает экологическую безопасность в Арктическом регионе с позиции стратегического планирования национальных интересов. Современная особенность политического курса государств по освоению Арктического региона ознаменована «гонкой стратегических документов», как это было указано в принятой в июне 2019 года Арктической стратегии США. Данная характеристика максимально правильно раскрывает существующую действительность в регионе, принятые государственные документы устанавливают принципиальные нормы продвижения государственной политики для защиты стратегических интересов. Национальные интересы в большинстве своем основаны на успешном ведении хозяйственной деятельности, реализации добычи природно-сырьевых богатств, в том числе и в шельфовой зоне. Стратегическое планирование Российской Федерации в Арктике связано с такими большими проектами, как: Ямал СПГ, Артик «СПГ-2», «Восток уголь», «Ворота Арктики». Осуществляется национальная программа по обустройству Северного морского пути, реализация проекта идет полным ходом, и на данном этапе приняты соответствующие планы по достижению необходимого уровня грузооборота по трассе СМП до 80 млн тонн до 2024 года. Хозяйственная деятельность в Арктике имеет определенные риски вероятного возникновения техногенной катастрофы, процент которого увеличивается пропорционально количеству действующих индустриальных программ. Возникновение утечек и разливов при добыче нефти-газового сырья, представляет реальную угрозу окружающей экосистеме Арктики, являющейся чрезмерно хрупкой и невосполнимой. Региональная история развития добывающей промышленности имеет прецеденты техногенной катастрофы с загрязнением значительных площадей, как в сухопутной части, так и в морских пространствах Арктики. По линии признанных региональных организаций (платформ для диалога), создаются и принимаются общеобязательные нормативно-правовые акты в рамках защиты окружающей среды Арктики; в 2013 году подписывается соглашение по сотрудничеству в сфере готовности к реагированию на угрозу загрязнения моря нефтью в Арктике. В 2017 году вступил в силу «Полярный кодекс», в котором представлены разделы с общеобязательными предписаниями с целью защиты жизни человека и предотвращения чрезвычайных ситуаций в полярных зонах. Общепризнанная платформа для диалога «Арктический Совет» в своей функции по большей части выполняет роль регионального аналитического центра по исследованию климатических изменений и охраны окружающей среды, проводя постоянные мониторинги окружающей среды. Таким образом, роль экологической безопасности в Арктике является одним из главных вопросов для сотрудничества стран на различных уровнях. Но несмотря на все усилия мирового сообщества и отдельных государств, происходят чрезвычайные ситуации различного рода, наносящие значительный ущерб окружающей среде, флоре и фауне региона вследствие чего актуальность данного вопроса не утрачивает силу.

Global Co-management and the Emergent Arctic: Opportunities for Engagement and Collaboration between Arctic States, Indigenous Permanent Participants, and Observers on the Arctic Council

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-267
Author(s):  
Barry S. Zellen
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Management Systems ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Indigenous Participation ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
Successful Collaboration ◽  
The Arctic Region

Successful collaboration between the indigenous peoples and the sovereign states of Arctic North America has helped to stabilise the Arctic region, fostering meaningful indigenous participation in the governance of their homeland, the introduction of new institutions of self-governance at the municipal, tribal and territorial levels, and successful diplomatic collaborations at the international level through the Arctic Council. This stability and the reciprocal and increasingly balanced relationship between sovereign states and indigenous stakeholders has yielded a widely recognised spirit of international collaboration often referred to as Arctic exceptionalism. With competition in the Arctic between states on the rise, the multitude of co-management systems and the multi-level, inter-governmental and inter-organisational relationships they have nurtured across the region will help to neutralise new threats to ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’ posed by intensifying inter-state tensions.

scholarly journals The specificity of Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Sofia Khusainova
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
National Interests ◽  
The North ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Arctic Region

The subject of this research is the policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic. The object is Russia’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council in 2021–2023. The author meticulously analyzes the positions of the state, taking into account national interests and peculiarities of the current international situation in the region. The article examines the domestic legislative acts adopted for regulation of the Arctic Region, as well as international documents aimed at sustainable development of the North. The conditions of collective security dictate moderate and clearly defined policy in the Arctic, which is the central arena for political action with the leading role of the Russian Federation until 2023. The conclusion is drawn that the Arctic Region is currently the most relevant vector of the policy of northern states. Chairmanship of the Russian Federation imposes enormous responsibility on the country, as despite the overall state of security in the region, there remains a range of unresolved issues. The attempts of institutionalization of the Arctic Council may become an implicit threat for the Russian Federation; this is why the systematization of domestic legislation and foreign policy actions on maintaining the health of ecosystem, cultural heritage, and environmental policy have become the priority vectors in the first year of Russia’s chairmanship. The overall responsibility of the leading actor the Arctic does not exclude the existence of classic threats to the security of state’s sovereignty, which requires accurate planning in subsequent years of the chairmanship.

The Northern forum as a successful model for the implementation of the identity of intra-state actors in the Arctic region

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
A. Lukin
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Administrative Functions ◽  
The World ◽  
Common Problems ◽  
Political Governance ◽  
The Arctic Region

The process of transforming international relations goes on under the influence of globalization mechanisms together with the development of integration processes. The establishment of more complex and at the same time simple mechanisms of cooperation in the system of international relations between its actors is the result of a change in the methods of introducing cases. Moving away from the classical principles of cooperation-diplomatic contacts, alliances, the world ceases to be a bipolar system of world device, thanks to the process of globalization, a multipolar world structure is being built with the new actors inherent in the globalization process, gives an example of multinational corporations and NGOs. Under the influence of globalization, the usual tools of international politics are being modified, since within the framework of the new system of transnational interaction, national states are forced to adapt to a changing, interconnected and interdependent world in which there is no longer a clear division between external and internal affairs. State power is forced to transform, transferring to a larger extent part of its functions to supranational structures, sharing its administrative functions with these structures and creating new models of world political governance. The Northern Forum acts as an organization uniting the regions of the subjects for solving common problems in the Arctic region.

Comparison of the Nordic Chairmanship Programmes and the Outputs of the Arctic Council in 2000–2013

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-186
Author(s):  
Paula Kovari
Keyword(s):  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Foreign Politics ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Take All ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change ◽  
The Arctic Region

The impacts of climate change as well as the increase of economic activities call for effective governance of the Arctic Region. The Arctic Council is the predominant intergovernmental forum in the region. The rotating chairmanships of the Member States have a defining role in the work of the Council. This paper compares the Arctic Council chairmanship programmes of the five Nordic Countries with the organisation’s outputs following the two-year chairmanship periods as expressed in the ministerial Declarations and the SAOs’ reports. The paper finds that the discourse on the studied topics has developed greatly over time and despite the similarities between the countries’ foreign politics in general, there are some notable differences in the way the countries see the future of the Arctic – for example through the region’s vast natural resources or as a unique environment of the Arctic biodiversity. The conclusion of this research is that even though the chair cannot take all the credit for its accomplishments during the chairmanship period in question, nor can it be blamed for all possible failures, the chair’s work does leave its mark on the Arctic Council’s performance.

Vocabularies for human development: Arctic politics and the power of knowledge

Polar Record ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen
Keyword(s):  
Human Development ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
The Status ◽  
Common Notion ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Is Value ◽  
The Arctic Region

ABSTRACTThe Arctic Council (AC) has been accorded the status of knowledge holder and knowledge provider for the Arctic region. This paper probes the broader definition-making power of Arctic knowledge, challenging the common notion that this knowledge is value neutral. It argues that attention should be paid to the ways in which power is exercised in, and though, the various reports and assessments published under the auspices of the AC. The specific focus of the paper is human development and gender as an aspect of that development. The research analyses the Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR) in order to examine the ways in which knowledge defines human development and its agents in the Arctic. The paper draws on Foucault-inspired and feminist approaches to analyse three vocabularies of rule in particular: strength of the community, vulnerability and the need for adaptation. These vocabularies are coexistent and share an emphasis on communities. Yet, questions of gender seldom figure in them, a lack of salience that reveals the power of the partiality of knowledge. The politics of knowledge operate by placing in the foreground only certain accounts of Arctic development.

Arctic Oiled Wildlife Response: Exploring Potential and Limitations

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1569-1582
Author(s):  
Hugo Nijkamp ◽  
Saskia Sessions ◽  
Philippe Blanc ◽  
Yannick Autret
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Migratory Species ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
The Arctic Region

ABSTRACT The Arctic is an extremely vulnerable area for oil pollution. Because of global warming and the resulting retreating ice, new economic shipping and Exploration & Production activities are likely to develop in the coming years and decades. Both governments (e.g. Arctic Council) and the oil industry (e.g. Arctic Response Technology Joint Industry Programme) are preparing for increased oil spill response capabilities in the Arctic region, and are looking to join forces for more efficiency and effectiveness. In connection to oil spill response planning in the Arctic both onshore and offshore, attention should be given to oiled wildlife response preparedness in this region. The Arctic is characterized by unique ecosystems and biodiversity, either marine or terrestrial, with a large proportion of migratory species. So although species diversity is assumed to be low compared to other regions, Arctic wildlife is very sensitive to the effects of oil pollution. Additionally the Arctic is a remote and extreme area for setting up a wildlife response in the framework of an oil spill response. This paper explores what the limitations of an Arctic oiled wildlife response would be (physical/logistical, health & safety, environmental monitoring, ecosystems understanding, biodiversity data, sensitivity mapping, etc.), and identifies how current gaps in response preparedness could be filled. Special emphasis is laid on investments into the capabilities of specialised responders and their equipment, including creation of a specialised Arctic Wildlife Response Strike Team.

scholarly journals Current and Prospective Roles of the Arctic Council System within the Context of the Law of the Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.J. Molenaar
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Institutional Structure ◽  
Search And Rescue ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Law Of The Sea ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
The Law ◽  
Maritime Search And Rescue

Abstract This article examines the current and prospective roles of the Arctic Council System (ACS) within the context of the (international) law of the sea. Its first part focuses on the role of regional cooperation under the law of sea, with special attention to the way in which the pacta tertiis principle has shaped some regional regimes. The second part examines current features of the Arctic Council, including its mandate and main approaches, participation and institutional structure. The new concept of the ACS is offered to clarify the connection between the Arctic Council and the 2011 Agreement on Cooperation in Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic and future legally binding instruments negotiated under the Council’s auspices, but not adopted by it. The article concludes with a synthesis of the current and prospective roles of the ACS under the law of the sea.

scholarly journals Aquatorialities of the Arctic Region – A Systems Theoretical Analysis of Risks

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gorm Harste
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Political System ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Legal Code ◽  
Communications Systems ◽  
Ecological Communication ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Arctic Region

In order to describe the Arctic system I propose using a concept functionally equivalent to territoriality, namely aquatoriality. Whether communicating about territoriality or aquatoriality, concepts and delimitations are both contingent to forms of communication systems. I will distinguish between six communications systems that differentiated from each other could become involved in the new deals emerging around the Arctic. Apart of an economic communication code about the Arctic, a legal code, ecological communication codes, and tourist communication codes, I will cope with the military coding of the Arctic. These codes could then appear structurally coupled to a political system that in an organizational way appears in the Arctic Council.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document