Abstract
This book explores the diverse functions conferences have for actors and entities within a governance system and inquires into the agenda-setting potential of conferences. Focusing on the Arctic regime complex, the book also asks whether and how gatherings where the formal and informal collide can produce governance. This opening chapter introduces the Arctic governance system and governance challenges in the region. It further draws attention to how states, institutions, and organizations are frequently subject to analysis in International Relations and the Arctic governance literature, while the role of conferences has been devoted less attention. This book fills this knowledge gap through a case study of the Arctic Frontiers and Arctic Circle Assembly. The analysis of these conferences focuses on three mechanisms: actors, agenda-setting, and the Arctic governance architecture. The chapter also introduces the theoretical framework, combining neorealism, the multiple streams framework, and regime theory, and presents the research design and empirical data underpinning the study. From this, the book contributes to the scholarly literatures on Arctic governance, international relations, and studies of global conferencing.
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Notes
- 1.
The Arctic is defined as including all oceans and territories to the north of the Arctic Circle, adjacent territories in Siberia and North America, and more southern ocean regions in the Atlantic and Bering Strait. States with territories within this area are the United States (Alaska), the Russian Federation, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark/Greenland (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, 1998).
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Steinveg, B. (2023). Introduction. In: Arctic Governance Through Conferencing. Frontiers in International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23332-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23332-6_1
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