Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Most likely, your perception of the Arctic is wrong.Looking at the polar regions on a globe, we see the great expanses of whiteness, the eternal ice of the Arctic Ocean and the inland ice on Greenland and Antarctica.The ice on Greenland and Antarctic is melting rapidly and it is estimated that the Arctic Ocean will be largely ice-free later this century.1Even the Tuvaijuittuq region, north of Canada and Greenland, also referred to as 'the last ice area' ,2 is now known to be under threat.3Together with the degradation and pollution of the natural environment, due to global pollution and as a consequence of increased economic activities in the region, climate change remains the largest challenge for the Arctic.That the effects of climate change are already very visible in the Arctic has also led to a global interest in the Arctic and its governance.International law is at the heart of Arctic governance and the most important tool for international cooperation in the circumpolar region, both through treaties and with the use of soft law.The Arctic has always been a place where cooperation was possible, indeed -due to the harsh reality of the climate and natural environment -necessary.On a few occasions, this was also visible during the Cold War, but since the final days of the Cold War, a new spirit of cooperation has emerged in the Arctic.Initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev's
Authors: Stefan Kirchner, Federica Cristani
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4366284789