This article is part of the Arctic in Context series of expert assessments of the Arctic Council at its 20th anniversary.  By Annika E. Nilsson Anniversaries tend to inspire kudos for past achievements, and the Arctic Council’s 20-year anniversary is no exception. We often hear about how it has created conditions for agreements on search

Since the 16th century, natural resources—both renewable and non-renewable—motivated European explorers and traders to navigate the Arctic in search of commercial expansion and a northern route to the “Orient.” From the fur trade in the pre-industrial era to the demand for minerals, oil, and gas as the world industrialized to increased emphasis on renewables and

This article is part of the Arctic in Context series of expert assessments of the Arctic Council at its 20th anniversary.  By David N. Biette As the United States prepared to take the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council for the second time, observers noted the 2015-2017 term would straddle two administrations. President Barack Obama’s

When the Arctic Council came into being with the signing of the Ottawa Declaration on Sept. 19, 1996, its survival was far from a foregone conclusion. Now, after 20 years in operation, the time has come for reflection. Founded as a consensus-based forum for cooperation, coordination, and interaction between Arctic states and, significantly, with the

By Alison LeClaire Even though I am new to the role as Canada’s Senior Arctic Official (SAO), I have a history with the Arctic from within our foreign ministry, and I am delighted to be back. From 1993-95, I worked as a desk officer on the International Arctic and Forest issues file. That work related

By Erica Dingman The fourth annual Arctic Circle Assembly, held from Oct. 7 to 9 in Reykjavik, Iceland, was a striking display of Arctic networks. The comingling of social networks representing a wide range of interests—from the commercial sector, academia, NGOs, and indigenous peoples to federal and subnational governments—later prompted discussion of commercial networks. From

By Robert Stevens The U.K.’s role in the Arctic region is increasingly under threat. Since decolonization throughout the 20th century, British exceptionalism has been all but ground down. The Canadian Arctic, one of the most sizable and populous regions of the Arctic, was a significant part of the U.K.’s colonial past. Yet in recent years,

By Bob Paquin Canada’s North put me under a spell. Glimpses of ice sheets, rock, and water from an altitude of 30,000 feet on transatlantic flights have always been captivating. I’ve wondered about the people and the places of the North, musing over Northern lifestyles and the undeniable link that the people have to their vast,

When the Arctic Council came into being with the signing of the Ottawa Declaration on Sept. 19, 1996, its survival was far from a foregone conclusion. Now, after 20 years in operation, the time has come for reflection. Founded as a consensus-based forum for cooperation, coordination, and interaction between Arctic states and, significantly, with the

When the Arctic Council came into being with the signing of the Ottawa Declaration on Sept. 19, 1996, its survival was far from a foregone conclusion. Now, after 20 years in operation, the time has come for reflection. Founded as a consensus-based forum for cooperation, coordination, and interaction between Arctic states and, significantly, with the