Adam Stepien

The Present and Future Competence of the European Union in the Arctic

The European Unions (EUs) intention of becoming a permanent observer in the Arctic Council and the reluctance of Arctic actors to grant it that status have made the unions aspirations in the Arctic the subject of a continuing debate. The discussion appears to be dominated by geographical considerations and the EUs gradually emerging Arctic policy. This article puts forward a different view of the EUs presence in the region, one drawing on an analysis of relevant EU competences. As a complex international actor, the EU has acquired a broad array of decision- making powers from its member states, powers that partly extend to Iceland and Norway via the EEA Agreement. Moreover, the EU has in many cases become a relevant actor in international negotiations and treaty making processes the outcomes of which are of crucial importance for the governance of the Arctic. Our argument in the third and concluding section is that only by including the EU in Arctic governance can the international community provide better prospects for the union to sensitise its policies and discourses to the Arctic realities and for other Arctic actors to understand how the union functions. This argument is supported by an analysis of the EUs restrictions on the import of seal products and the ensuing litigation.

Arctic Indigenous Peoples and the Challenge of Climate Change

This chapter presents climate change impacts on indigenous traditional harvesting, cultures, identities, traditional knowledge, economies, societies, health, and infrastructure in light of overall socioeconomic and political changes in the Arctic. Responses to these stressors can be autonomous (e.g., ad-hoc responses within communities) or planned (i.e., governmental strategies). Responses are evaluated here in light of the predominant scientific and political discourse on vulnerability and adaptive capacity. This dominant vulnerability-adaptation approach has had a major influence on policy developments and research, though requires greater problematization and critical overview. Therefore, notions of intervention, trusteeship, power, and the use of the language of crisis are discussed. As an outcome of these deliberations, further and genuine empowerment is presented as a primary response to climate change impacts and adaptation challenges.

Preparing for the Global Rush: The Arctic Council, Institutional Norms, and Socialisation of Observer Behaviour

In the past years, the Arctic states have developed a normative framework that outside actors have to adopt in order to be accepted as observers to the Arctic Council. This chapter scrutinises inasmuch three non-Arctic actors—the European Union, Poland, and China—as observers to the Arctic Council have been socialised into Arctic ways of thinking through the norms and rules promoted by Arctic Council member states and Permanent Participants. Using a socialisation concept, the authors compare to which degree the three observers have internalised the mechanisms of conditionality contained in the observer rules with a special focus on the requirements of observers to respect the rights, values, and traditions of Arctic indigenous peoples and their willingness to contribute to the work of Permanent Participants.

The Recent Arctic Council Assessments: Influential Tools in Policy-Making in the Council and Beyond?

The scientific assessments of the Arctic Council (AC) have been widely regarded as the most effective products of the AC. Yet, so far comparatively little scholarly attention has been given to this primary area of the Council’s work. This paper examines the most recent assessment work within the Arctic Council. In order to do this, we build on the literature on global environmental assessments to analyze whether this work exhibits design features and is carried out in a way that enhances the potential for AC assessments to be effective. We understand the effectiveness of assessments to influence decision and policy-making in the Arctic Council itself, but we also look beyond its structures. This paper focuses on four case studies: Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA), Arctic Human Development Report-II (ADHR-II), Arctic Resilience Report/Arctic Resilience Assessment (ARR/ARA) and Adaptation Actions for a Changing Arctic (AACA). Whereas detailed examination of such influence is at this point not possible due to either very short time from their completion (ABA, ADHR-II) or the fact that the projects are still ongoing (ARA, AACA), the analysis of those assessments through the lens of a series of their design features provides us with some guidance in relation to their expected effectiveness in bridging science with decision-making in the AC and beyond. The article finds that whereas different processes exhibit different individual characteristics, all the studied assessments rank from relatively high to very high in terms of how their design may affect their salience, credibility and legitimacy. However, their actual policy influence will depend first and foremost on the political will of those ordering the assessments and wielding decision-making power in the Arctic Council.