Natalia Jegorova is a Junior Researcher Fellow at the International Center for Defence Studies (ICDS),
Estonia.
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Regionalism & Globalisation:
The Case of the Arctic
Natalja Jegorova
The increased accessibility of the Arctic and the new opportunities and challenges this change brings about have raised a number
of questions that need to be addressed. One of such questions is the issue of regionalism and globalisation in respect to the
Arctic. By applying New Regionalism theory to examine the Arctic as a region, and Realism and Neoliberalism to assess Arctic
regional security, this article attempts to analyse whether the Arctic is still a cluster of smaller regions or if it has become a part
of a globalised world.
On May 15, 2013, in a historic move, the Arctic Council granted the long-pursued observer status to
five Asian states.
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This marked the beginning of a new – global – era for a region that has so far
been generally regarded as a relatively closed-up space in the North. The Arctic, originally accessible
only to five littoral states due to their proximity to the Arctic Ocean, has evolved from a multitude
of localised areas into a wider entity, first including non-Arctic European states and now involving
Asian states located as far south as the equator. The once frozen and rarely addressed region is now
frequently regarded as a potential ―final frontier‖ and excites interest of the world‘s leading
economies. But what has triggered this change in the image of the Arctic and how did this change
come about? Moreover, how should we regard the Arctic now – as an entity composed of smaller
sub-regions, as a region on its own, or, perhaps, as a part of a greater, wider globalised world?