This book comprehensively discusses the role that non-state actors play in the Arctic and assesses the normative role of these actors. Beyond any organised forum, there are actors that have a significant impact on the way the Arctic is developed, adjudicated, managed, perceived, presented and represented. This book complements the literature on non-state actors in international law and international security, world politics and international relations and provides a geographical account of their role for the Arctic. The book content is not limited to a specific discipline, but takes into account different approaches to the topic. This means that it contains three types of contributions: research articles, shorter research notes and commentaries. While the research articles constitute the main body of the work, it is also the research notes which provide an insight into issues related to the topic of the book.

This book analyses the possibilities and limitations that sub-national actors face when developing diplomatic activities in the Arctic region. Sub-national actors, such as civil society groups and sub-national governments or administrations, have been active in international relations for decades. They face specific political and economic limitations on the international scene as non-sovereign entities. This book investigates how these actors have developed their international presence in the Arctic region. It analyzes the diplomatic activities of states, provinces, regional administrations, and multilateral forums made of sub-national governments to offer comparative insights on the strategies, interests, and activities of sub-national governments. Alaska, Scotland, Quebec, Yakutsk, and Indigenous People’s organizations are among the examples covered in this book that have forged bilateral and multilateral relations to promote and defend their interests and values. Moreover, sovereign states are often using these sub-national actors to further their own interests, as exemplified in this book in how Russia and China harnessed the potential of sub-national governments to align with their Arctic policies. The volume will be useful to academics and graduate students of Arctic politics, international relations, comparative politics, comparative federalism, foreign policy, and global governance.

More than ever before the changing environmental and political landscape in the Arctic requires stability and foreseeability based on resilient common norms. The emerging legal orders in the Arctic cannot be legitimately created or effectively implemented unless all relevant actors are involved. Simultaneously, it must always be based on respect for the sovereign rights of the eight Arctic states in the region, as well as the tradition and cultural livelihood of the local communities. It is this delicate balance between Arctic and non-Arctic interests that is the core problématique for the emerging legal orders in the Arctic. Emerging Legal Orders in the Arctic critically examines the role of non-Arctic actors in this advancement of the shape and scope of the Arctic legal order. Discussing the admittance and participation of Observer states and organisations in the Arctic Council, including task force meetings where new treaties are negotiated, it details the issues and successes this can result in. Setting up the context of the current legal orders in the Arctic, the book discusses Asian, indigenous and European perspectives, amongst others. There is a strong focus on the groundbreaking fisheries agreement of November 2017 in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO), and the impact on both Arctic and non-Arctic actors. Interests in marine living resources, scientific cooperation and the Arctic shipping regimes and governance are also thoroughly discussed from multiple perspectives. The book combines the expertise of academics and practitioners in the fields of international law and Arctic governance, uniquely focusing on Asian actors in the Arctic legal order-making. The resulting study is a fascinating insight into the interplay between non-Arctic actors and the Arctic legal order, and will be invaluable to academics in the field of Arctic and international law.

This book examines emerging forms of governance in the Arctic region, exploring how different types of state and non-state actors promote and support rules and standards. The authors argue that confining our understandings of Arctic governance to Arctic states and a focus on the Arctic Council as the primary site of circumpolar governance provides an incomplete picture. Instead, they embrace the complexity of governance in the Arctic by systematically analyzing and comparing the position, interventions, and influence of different actor groups seeking to shape Arctic political and economic outcomes in multiple sites of Arctic politics, both formal and informal. This book assesses the potential that sub-national governments, corporations, civil society organizations, Indigenous peoples, and non-Arctic states possess to develop norms and standards to ensure a stable, rule-based Arctic region. It will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of Arctic Sovereignty, Security Studies, Global Governance, and International Political Economy.

Increased global interest in the Arctic poses challenges to contemporary international relations and many questions surround exactly why and how Arctic countries are asserting their influence and claims over their northern reaches and why and how non-Arctic states are turning their attention to the region. Despite the inescapable reality in the growth of interest in the Arctic, relatively little analysis on the international relations aspects of such interest has been done. Traditionally, international relations studies are focused on particular aspects of Arctic relations, but to date there has been no comprehensive effort to explain the region as a whole. Literature on Arctic politics is mostly dedicated to issues such as development, the environment and climate change, or indigenous populations. International relations, traditionally interested in national and international security, has been mostly silent in its engagement with Arctic politics. Essential concepts such as security, sovereignty, institutions, and norms are all key aspects of what is transpiring in the Arctic, and deserve to be explained in order to better comprehend exactly why the Arctic is of such interest. The sheer number of states and organizations currently involved in Arctic international relations make the region a prime case study for scholars, policymakers and interested observers. In this first systematic study of Arctic international relations, Robert W. Murray and Anita Dey Nuttall have brought together a group of the world's leading experts in Arctic affairs to demonstrate the multifaceted and essential nature of circumpolar politics. This book is core reading for political scientists, historians, anthropologists, geographers and any other observer interested in the politics of the Arctic region.

Introduction -- International environmental governance and non-governmental actors -- The participation on non-governmental actors in climate change law-making and governance -- Non-governmental actors and a changing climate : learning from Arctic Indigenous peoples -- Climate change litigation : a bottom-up approach to climate change governance -- A human rights-based approach to climate change : improving the participation of non-governmental actors in international climate change law-making -- Concluding remarks-towards a new significance for non-governmental actors in international climate change governance : a proposal for the future.

This volume explores the governance of the transforming Arctic from an international perspective. Leading and emerging scholars in Arctic research investigate the international causes and consequences of contemporary Arctic developments, and assess how both state and non-state actors respond to crucial problems for the global community. Long treated as a remote and isolated region, climate change and economic prospects have put the Arctic at the forefront of political agendas from the local to the global level, and this book tackles the variety of involved actors, institutional politics, relevant policy issues, as well as political imaginaries related to a globalizing Arctic. It covers new institutional forms of various stakeholder engagement on multiple levels, governance strategies to combat climate change that affect the Arctic region sooner and more strongly than other regions, the pros and cons of Arctic resource development for the region and beyond, and local and trans-boundary pollution concerns. Given the growing relevance of the Arctic to international environmental, energy and security politics, the volume helps to explain how the region is governed in times of global nexuses, multi-level politics and multi-stakeholderism.