CHAPTER SEVEN

ARCTIC GEOPOLITICAL CONFIGURATION:

ZONES OF CONSENSUS AND ZONES

OF CONFLICT

IRINA VALKO^1

Introduction

The Arctic region is a unique geopolitical entity. Just a quarter-century
ago, and for thousands of years before that, a thick layer of multi-year ice
covered the northernmost ocean and the surrounding coastal areas of eight
Arctic states. At the same time, until very recently, the Arctic had received
limited attention from scientists, policy-makers and traders: in contrast to
other parts of the world, harsh climatic conditions have effectively limited
human presence and activity in the region. The situation now has become
quite different, as recent dramatic increases in temperature have led to
predictions that there will be a complete disappearance of ice as early as
the summer of 2030.^2 An ice-free Arctic promises significant structural
responses in both physical and human-constructed environments. Saddled
with a number of ongoing sovereignty disputes^3 and unequal distribution
of natural, demographic, economic, political, and military resources the
region now is entering a period of grand systemic socio-economic
transition (Anderson 2009, Chapman 2011, Hough 2013), which is
frequently associated in literature with greater political instability (Bujra

(^1) Mgr. et Mgr. Irina Valko is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Political
Science in the Institute of Political Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at
Charles University in Prague. E-mail: [email protected].
(^2) See Update on Selected Climate Issues of Concern: Observations, Short lived
Climate Forcers, Arctic Carbon Cycle, and Predictive Capability. Oslo: Arctic
Monitoring and Assessment Programme, 2009.
(^3) Northwest Passage, Lomonosov Ridge, Hans Islands, and Beaufort Sea.