Abstract
This chapter provides an inventory of key actors and arrangements operating in the Arctic, with the purpose of familiarizing readers with the region and portray the governance landscape in which the book situates conferences. The chapter presents the Arctic states and derives their primary interests and priorities in the region from their Arctic policy documents. In addition, non-Arctic states have issued Arctic strategies, which warrants drawing attention also to their interests and priorities in the region. This enables the examination of how conferences can be purposeful arenas for these actors to advance their position and argue for their stakeholder status in the Arctic. Non-governmental entities are also part of the Arctic governance landscape, and the chapter accounts for such entities engaged in the region. Then, particular attention is devoted to the Arctic Council, which is the salient forum for intergovernmental cooperation in the region. A central objective of mapping the governance arrangements in the Arctic is to account for their main objectives, but also what they do not accomplish, to enable the analysis of whether conferences can function as purposeful supplements within the Arctic governance architecture.
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Steinveg, B. (2023). Arctic Governance: Actors, Processes, and Structures. In: Arctic Governance Through Conferencing. Frontiers in International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23332-6_3
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