Abstract
The Arctic has been an integrated part of the international political, economic, security, and technology systems for centuries, and the Arctic has closely mirrored systemic developments. The place of the Arctic in the international system explains developments in the Arctic historically and today and is likely to predict future developments in the Arctic. The paper applies Birthe Hansen’s model and concepts of unipolarity, which have not previously been applied to the Arctic. John Mearsheimer’s concepts of international and bounded orders are also applied. The Arctic was strongly influenced by bipolarity during the Cold War. The post-Cold War Arctic reflected American unipolarity and liberal political project with circumpolar Arctic (North American, Nordic, and Russian) cooperation focusing on liberal topics, such as sustainable development, environmental protection, and Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Emerging Sino-American bipolarity is also clearly reflected in the Arctic. The largest and most important Arctic state is Russia. The place of Russia in Sino-American bipolarity will determine the future of Circumpolar Arctic cooperation.
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Bertelsen, R.G. (2022). Unipolarity and Order in the Arctic. In: Græger, N., Heurlin, B., Wæver, O., Wivel, A. (eds) Polarity in International Relations. Governance, Security and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05505-8_16
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