Situating the Local Level in Arctic Politics: How Can it Engage in Arctic Governance, and How is it Affected by Arctic Geopolitics?

At the beginning of the century, the Arctic region came into the global spotlight. The renewed attention was largely driven by climate change, and the resulting opportunities as the ice cap melts; the prospect of natural resource exploration and new shipping routes between Europe and Asia. Footnote Subsequently, the Arctic States turned their attention to their northern regions, while non-Arctic actors expressed their interest in the area. The new opportunities also sparked perceptions of a potential ‘scramble’ and ‘great game’ over resources and control of sea lines. However, as it became evident that the Arctic States managed many of these new issues in a cooperative matter through international legal frameworks and various regional cooperative mechanisms, the counter-notion of ‘Arctic exceptionalism’ emerged.