US-Russia Arctic Cooperation: Strategic Ebbs and Flows

Since the end of the Cold War, strategic priorities regarding Arctic cooperation between the United States and Russia have fluctuated. Bilateral and multilateral commitments between the two nations in the Arctic have experienced both positive and negative phases, reflected in the official strategic documents published by each State and endorsed by their respective presidents. This analysis is structured according to presidential administrations, beginning with US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Clinton was the first post-Cold War US President to develop an Arctic strategy, while Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation. The Essay identifies shifts in Arctic strategies across successive US and Russian administrations, contextualized within broader US-Russia relations and global military interventions, particularly following the conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine.