The Changing Arctic. Creating a Framework for Consensus Building and Governance within the Arctic Council. Douglas C. Nord

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1 The Changing Arctic

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3 The Changing Arctic Creating a Framework for Consensus Building and Governance within the Arctic Council Douglas C. Nord

4 THE CHANGING ARCTIC Copyright Douglas C. Nord 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN: E-PDF ISBN: DOI: / Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Nord, Douglas C. (Douglas Charles), author. Title: The changing Arctic : creating a framework for consensus building and governance within the Arctic Council / Douglas C. Nord. Description: New York City : Palgrave Macmillan, Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN Subjects: LCSH: Arctic Council. Arctic regions International status. Arctic regions Strategic aspects. Environmental protection Arctic regions. BISAC: BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Environmental Economics. POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Diplomacy. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Leadership. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / General. POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / International. Classification: LCC G593.N DDC 341.4/ dc23 LC record available at A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.

5 To Friends and Colleagues in Umeå Old and New

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7 Contents List of Tables Acknowledgments ix xi 1 An Introduction 1 2 Placing the Arctic within Analytical and Theoretical Frameworks 9 3 Efforts at Creating an Arctic Regime 23 4 The Swedish Chairmanship 55 5 The Project Unfolds 81 6 Assessing the Accomplishments of the Swedish Chairmanship Considering the Future 139 Bibliography 173 Index 181

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9 List of Tables 3.1 Member States of the Arctic Council (in Order of Chairmanship Service) Permanent Participants of the Arctic Council Observers of the Arctic Council (by Category) Swedish Chairmanship Group Agenda for the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna, May

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11 Acknowledgments My interest in the Arctic and the Arctic Council goes back several decades and has been inspired and sustained by a number of individuals over the years. It all began in the early 1980s when a colleague at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, Dr. Matti Kaups, placed a map of the Arctic on my desk one morning and asked: Have you ever looked at the world from the top downwards? I admitted that I had not, and that simple question eventually launched an extensive research agenda on circumpolar affairs. Initially I looked at the region from a North American perspective focusing on Canadian and American views of the North at the conclusion of the Cold War. I discovered that Ottawa and Washington did not hold the same opinions on either the current status or future needs of the region and I became interested in explaining why this should be the case. I spent a number of years investigating and reporting on a new Canadian initiative to establish an Arctic Council for the region. Throughout this time, several colleagues in both Canada and the United States were supportive of these endeavors. Geoffrey Weller, Diddy Hitchins, William Morrison, and Victor Konrad all offered useful information and insights. Starting in the 1990s my inquiries into Arctic diplomacy took on a decidedly circumpolar perspective as I spent time in each of the eight Arctic states and delved into their individual relationships with the region. This resulted in a series of comparative research studies of the northern foreign and domestic policies of the major Arctic states. My understanding of the broad circle of nations that occupy the Far North was significantly enhanced by conversations during

12 xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS this time with several friends and colleagues including Sverker Sörlin, Lassi Heininen, Alexis Pogorelskin, Walter Baeumler, Esko Riepula, Staffan Klintborg, Kjell Lundmark, and Victor Vasiliev. Following the establishment of the Arctic Council in 1996, I continued my research on the Canadian and American contributions to this new international body but, increasingly, became interested in the roles that were to be played by Russia and the Nordic countries. As interest in the region grew in the new millennium and the Arctic became hot, I thought it would be important not only to consider the polar area from the perspective of the major Arctic states but also from the vantage point of some of the smaller ones as well. In 2011 an opportunity presented itself to do so in the case of the Swedish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. I asked permission of Gustaf Lind, the Swedish Arctic Ambassador and the incoming Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, to observe the deliberations of the Arctic Council. This he graciously granted and provided me access to the meetings and deliberations of the body over the ensuing two years. Ambassador Lind was also extremely kind in offering me a series of follow-up interviews during this period as were some other members of the Swedish Chairmanship Group including Andreas von Uexküll and Mikael Anzén. The current Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat, Magnús Jóhannesson, and his staff also have been most helpful in providing background information and materials on the operation of the Arctic Council. Through their freely offered insights and perspectives I was able to better understand some of the very real operational and leadership challenges faced every day by key officials within evolving international organizations like the Arctic Council. Several other academic colleagues and associates provided useful comments and suggestions for my research on the Arctic Council as it evolved. The ideas provided by Oran Young, Iver Neumann, Torbjörn Bergman, David Scrivener, Piotr Graczyk, Michael Byers, Stéphane Roussel, Cindy Kite,

13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii Heather Nicol, and John-Erik Fossum were most welcomed and much appreciated. So too was the regular encouragement coming from Kerstin Kolam, Anders Lidström, Gunnel Gustafsson, Olof Johansson, Birgitta Evengård, and several other colleagues at Umeå University with whom I shared morning coffee and afternoon fika. I was fortunate to receive a Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship from the Swedish Fulbright Commission during that enabled me to conduct much of my on-the-scene inquiries during that period. I also received additional research funding from the Department of Political Science at Umeå University that assisted me with the writing and editing of this volume. To all who gave of their time, experience, and resources, a most heartfelt thanks. Douglas C. Nord Umeå, Sweden June 2015