A new exploration of the impacts of Arctic regimes in such vital areas as pollution, biodiversity, indigenous affairs, health and climate change. The post-Cold War era has seen an upsurge in interest in Arctic affairs. With new international regimes targeting Arctic issues at both the global and regional levels, the Northern areas seem set to play an increasingly prominent role in the domestic and foreign policies of the Arctic states and actors – not least Russia, the USA and the EU. This volume clearly distinguishes between three key kinds of impact: effectiveness, defined as mitigation or removal of specific problems addressed by a regime political mobilization, highlighting changes in the pattern of involvement and influence in decision making on Arctic affairs region building, understood as contributions by Arctic institutions to denser interactive or discursive connectedness among the inhabitants of the region. Empirically, the main focus is on three institutions: the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Region and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. International Cooperation and Arctic Governance is essential reading for all students with an interest in Arctic affairs and their impact on global society.

The Arctic region contains large amounts of natural resources considered necessary to sustain global economic growth, so it is unsurprising that it is increasingly susceptible to political, economic, environmental, and even military conflicts. This book looks in detail at the preconditions and outlook for international cooperation on the development of Arctic petroleum resources, focusing on Norwegian–Russian cooperation in the Barents Sea towards 2025. The authors provide a cross-disciplinary approach including geopolitical, institutional, technological, corporate and environmental perspectives to analyse the underlying factors that shape the future development of the region. Three future scenarios are developed, exploring various levels of cooperation and development influenced by and resulting from potential political, commercial and environmental circumstances. Through these scenarios, the book improves understanding of the challenges and opportunities for Arctic petroleum resource development and promotes further consideration of the possible outcomes of future cooperation. The book should be of interest to students, scholars and policy-makers working in the areas of Arctic studies, oil and gas studies, energy security, global environmental governance, environmental politics and environmental technology. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter1.pdf Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter2.pdf Chapter 6 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/Open+Access+Chapters/9781138783263_oachapter6.pdf

The Arctic region plays an important role in regulating the world’s climate and is also highly impacted by climate change, with average temperatures rising almost twice as fast as the rest of the world and sea ice melting much faster than previously predicted. These rapid changes will have significant impacts on human activity in the region and on the Arctic marine environment. This book draws on the results of the 2008-2009 Arctic TRANSFORM project, funded by the European Commission‘s Directorate General of External Relations, which engaged experts in a transatlantic discussion on the roles of the European Union and United States in light of the Arctic’s changing climate and political and legal complexities. . The book addresses the significant changes and developments in the marine Arctic, with descriptions and recommendations reflecting the current governance environment. A comprehensive overview of environmental governance and sustainable development in the Arctic is created. Chapters explore impacts and activities by sector, looking at fisheries, shipping, and offshore hydrocarbon in the Arctic, and at policy options and strategies for improving marine governance in the region. A particular focus is given to the roles of the European Union and United States and opportunities for cooperation to enhance Arctic environmental governance. .

Against the backdrop of climate change and tectonic political shifts in world politics, this handbook provides an overview of the most crucial geopolitical and security related issues in the Arctic. It discusses established shareholder's policies in the Arctic – those of Russia, Canada, the USA, Denmark, and Norway – as well as the politics and interests of other significant or future stakeholders, including China and India. Furthermore, it explains the economic situation and the legal framework that governs the Arctic, and the claims that Arctic states have made in order to expand their territories and exclusive economic zones. While illustrating the collaborative approach, represented by institutions such as the Arctic council, which has often been described as an exceptional institution in this region, the contributing authors examine potential resource and power conflicts between Arctic nations, due to competing interests. The authors also address topics such as changing alliances between Arctic nations, new sea lines of communication, technological shifts, and eventually the return to power politics in the area. Written by experts on international security studies and the Arctic, as well as practitioners from government institutions and international organizations, the book provides an invaluable source of information for anyone interested in geopolitical shifts and security issues in the High North.

This book addresses a very important challenge of the present – complex decommissioning of the nuclear-powered vessels taken out of service and environmental rehabilitation of the centers of basing and everyday running of different-type nuclear vessels. The book specifically focuses on the scientific and technical problems of management of naval spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.