Abstract
The 1996 Ottawa Declaration establishing the Arctic Council allowed for three categories of Observers within the body: non-Arctic states; intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary organizations and non-governmental organizations that the Arctic Council deemed might contribute to its work. At the first opportunity during the Iqaluit Ministerial in 1998, four non-Arctic state Observers, three intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary organizations, and four non-governmental organizations were admitted as Observers. There are now a total of thirty-nine accredited Observers within the Arctic Council. What has brought about this major increase? Who are these Observers and what roles do they play within the organization? What are their perspectives on the operation of the body and the challenges of leadership within it? Have their roles and perspectives changed over the last four Chairmanships? What have been the nature of their interactions with the Chair? This chapter will endeavor to address each of these questions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The Ottawa Declaration established 3 categories of Observers: non-Arctic states; intergovernmental (IGO) and inter-parliamentary organizations; and non-governmental (NGO) organizations that the Council determines can contribute to its work. There were 12 original Observers in 1998.
- 2.
Japan was also present at the signing of the Ottawa Declaration and had participated in the Rovaniemi Process but did not pursue Observer status with the AC at that time.
- 3.
IASC had been an AEPS Observer and became an original Arctic Council Observer in 1998 in the NGO category.
- 4.
Polar Regions Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London; www.gov.uk/government/publication
- 5.
The author was present at this meeting in her capacity as accredited UK Observer and took full notes from which this description of the meeting was reconstructed.
References
AMAP. (2004). Impacts of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) Overview Report.
Arctic Council. (1996a). Declaration on the establishment of the Arctic Council. Ottawa.
Arctic Council. (1996b). Joint communique of the governments of the Arctic countries on the establishment of the Arctic Council. Ottawa, September 19, 1996.
Arctic Council. (1998). Arctic Council rules of procedure (as adopted by the Arctic Council at the First Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, Iqaluit, Canada, September 17 – 18, 1998).
Arctic Council. (2006). Common objectives and priorities for the Norwegian, Danish and Swedish chairmanships of the Arctic Council (2006–2012).
Arctic Council. (2008). Observer states’ joint statement, 2008. Presented at the Arctic Council SAO meeting, Kautokeino, Norway, 19–20 November 2008.
Arctic Council. (Arctic Council Secretariat 2011a). Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) Report to Ministers, Nuuk, Greenland.
Arctic Council. (2011b). Nuuk Declaration on the occasion of the seventh ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, 12 May 2011, Nuuk, Greenland.
Arctic Council. (2013a). Arctic Council observer manual for subsidiary bodies, as adopted by the Arctic Council at the eighth Arctic Council ministerial meeting, Kiruna, Sweden, May 15, 2013.
Arctic Council. (2013b). Arctic Council rules of procedure (Revised by the Arctic Council ministerial meeting, Kiruna, Sweden, May 15, 2013).
Arctic Council. (2013c). Kiruna Declaration.
Arctic Council. (2013d). Canadian chairmanship (Arctic Council secretariat, 2013-05-15). Document outlining the priorities for the second Canadian chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2013–2015.
Arctic Council. (2015). U.S. Chairmanship brochure for the second U.S. Chairmanship 2015–2017.
Arctic Council. (2016). The United Kingdom’s (UK) 2016 Observer Review Report.
Arctic Council. (Arctic Council Secretariat 2017a–05 -11). Declaration of the Foreign Ministers of the Arctic States at the 10th Ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council, held in Fairbanks, Alaska, 10–11 May, 2017.
Arctic Council. (2017b). Finnish Chairmanship (2017–05) Document outlining the priorities for the second Finnish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council from 2017–2019.
Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy. (1991). Declaration on the protection of Arctic environment. Rovaniemi Finland.
Axworthy, T. S., Koivurova, T., & Hasanat, W. (Eds.). (2012). The Arctic Council: Its place in the future of Arctic governance. Toronto: Munk Gordon Arctic Security Program.
Graczyk, P., & Koivurova, T. (2014). A new era in the Arctic Council’s external relations? Broader consequences of the Nuuk observer rules for Arctic governance. Polar Record, 50(254), 225–236.
Ilulissat Declaration. (2008). Arctic Ocean Conference, Ilulissat, Greenland, 27–29 May, 2008.
Inuit Circumpolar Council. (2015). A meaningful & principled approach for Inuit engaging Arctic Council observers.
Knecht, S. (2015). New observers queuing up: Why the Arctic Council should expand – and expel. The Arctic Institute. www.thearcticinstitute.org/new-observers-queuing-up/
Koivurova, T., & Smieszek, M. (2017). The Arctic Council: Between continuity and change. In W. P. Lackenbauer, H. Nicol, & W. Greaves (Eds.), One Arctic: the Arctic Council and Circumpolar Governance (pp. 1–26). Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
Lackenbauer, W. P., Nicol, H., & Greaves, W. (Eds.). (2017). One Arctic: the Arctic Council and circumpolar governance. Ottawa: Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
Nord, D. C. (2017). Leadership from the Chair: The Experience of Three Successive Chairmanships of the Arctic Council. In W. P. Lackenbauer, H. Nicol, & W. Greaves (Eds.), One Arctic: the Arctic Council and Circumpolar Governance (pp. 27–45). Ottawa., 2017:: Canadian Arctic Resources Committee.
Steinberg, P. E., & Dodds, K. (2013). The Arctic Council after Kiruna. Polar Record, 51(1), 108–110, 2013.
UK, Polar Regions Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. (2013). Adapting to change: UK policy towards the Arctic. www.gov.uk/government/publication.
UK, Polar Regions Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. (2018). Beyond the Ice: UK policy towards the Arctic. www.gov.uk/government/publication.
Young, O. R., Kim, J. D., & Kim, Y. H. (Eds.). 2014. The Arctic in world affairs: A North Pacific dialogue on international cooperation in a changing Arctic, Korea Maritime Institute and East West Center.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hitchins, D.R.M. (2019). Non-Arctic State Observers of the Arctic Council: Perspectives and Views. In: Nord, D. (eds) Leadership for the North. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03107-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03107-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03106-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03107-7
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)