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Arctic Yearbook 2013
A Proliferation of Forums
the Canadian Chairmanship. Significant new oil plays may be a decade away, but the Arctic looks
open for business.
Add to these the
scientific
, such as the
International Conference on the Arctic Ocean Acidification
and the
Circumpolar Agriculture Conference
; the
pragmatic
, such as the
World Snow Forum
and the
5
th
Symposium
on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations
;
and the
obscure
, such as the
Nordic Theoretical Archaeology Group
conference. Finally, we would be remiss to omit the growing
number of Arctic-themed conferences held by and for the EU organization and its members, such
as the EESC‘s public hearing on the
European Union and Arctic Policy
; the
French Arctic Initiative
; the
Alfred-Wegener-Institut‘s
Arctic Dialogue
; or the very euro-themed
Arctic Frontiers
. The effect is one
of intensification and momentum in all things Arctic, where the future of the Arctic is being actively
constructed (clic
or our *40-page* inventory of this year‘s Arctic meetings, conferences and
events.)
Plus
Ç
a Change…
There is nothing new about the development of regional organizations and forums in the Arctic.
The post-Cold War era saw a proliferation of Arctic bodies, from IASC and IASSA to the Northern
Forum (NF), the Northern Research Forum (NRF), the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy
(AEPS), and the Calotte Academy; and 2013 marks the 20
th
anniversary of a host of circumpolar
organizations, such as the Barents-Euro Arctic Region (BEAR) and the Sami Parliament of Sweden.
But the preponderance of outside interest, and investment, in Arctic affairs is a conspicuous
reflection of the breadth and depth by which the region is globalizing. The regionalization that took
place in the early 1990s was very much an insider affair, composed of career scientists, indigenous
leaders and the northern political elite. Now it is not just the Chinese that are demanding a voice in
the region‘s affairs: garden-variety environmentalists, mainstream journalists and even the Swedes
have discovered they care quite a bit with what happens in the region (see Doug Nord‘s article on
the Sweden Chairmanship in this volume).
For Better or For Worse
It has been said of globalization that it is neither inherently good nor inherently bad, but a process to
be managed for the betterment of society. The Arctic is particular in that the interests and values of
different actors are often wildly competing, and the globalization of the region seems to have
exacerbated many differences.
Misperceptions and romanticisms about what the Arctic represents and promises abound. The
Arctic Council‘s Permanent Participants were probably right in their hesitancy to invite new actors in
as Observers when their own seats were so hard won. But one must appreciate the extent to which
newcomers to the region are attempting to become informed about the region‘s rich culture, politics
and history. And if all the attention on the Arctic seems a little bit much, consider how it has also
been productive: we are many times more likely to see stricter environmental regulations in the
Arctic in the next five years then we are to see major conflict, something that would not have been
said in 2008. High-quality information from a variety of sources and perspectives are being