Mayline Strouk

While the Arctic is commonly referred to as a remote and harsh edge of the world, it is also a region of international science. The case of the Svalbard archipelago shows that scientists from forty-eight countries on every continent of the globe have conducted research projects in this high-latitude territory. Eleven non-Arctic countries even have a research station. Such international organisation of science around Svalbard redefines what we consider as the Arctic. Norway mitigated the “Arcticness” of Svalbard by making the archipelago more accessible in many respects. Together with many non-Arctic countries, it has organised logistics to enable scientists from all around the world to travel and work in Svalbard.

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