Arctic Yearbook 2013
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First, to maintain the culture of open dialogue and the informal style of deliberation and enduring
personal friendships and mutual respect which have made the Arctic Council and other Arctic
venues so successful in recent years. When new partners arrive on the scene, who perhaps are used
to more formalized and bureaucratic diplomatic encounters, it is important that they adjust to our
productive and practical Arctic culture of achievements.
Second, the pre-eminent role of science and research in Arctic policy-making must be maintained.
Knowledge, based on expert advice and scientific projects, has been the foundation of Arctic
decisions and a guiding principle in making Arctic cooperation so successful. The search for facts
and scientific evidence has been more important than displays of political and economic power.
Third, in the dialogue within the Arctic Council, indigenous peoples and their organisations and
representatives have been a significant part of the process, emphasizing an open and democratic
approach to our common Arctic future. No other international cooperation among states has in
recent years been so respectful of indigenous peoples, their traditions and interests.
These three dimensions have been of key importance in the success of Arctic cooperation and must
be maintained effectively in the coming years. They are to some extent the ―Arctic House Rules‖
which I am sure our new visitors and partners will gladly respect.
It is therefore of great importance that the Arctic Yearbook is now committed to evaluating this
historic transformation: the process of turning the mysterious and isolated Arctic of previous times,
the arena of constructive cooperation among the eight Arctic States, into the new global playing field
of economic and political interests where all the most powerful countries of Europe, Asia and North
America are represented in one way or another.
The Yearbook, which is this year devoted to how the Arctic of Regions meets the Globalised Arctic,
examines the nature of this historic crossroads from different angles. It thus contributes in
significant ways to the most important transformation the Arctic has ever encountered,
demonstrating how science and scholarly dialogue are, and must be, guiding principles of Arctic
cooperation and introduce our new partners to an important tradition, the foundation of successful
Arctic cooperation.