By Heather Exner-Pirot The United States will assume the chairmanship of the Arctic Council this coming April for a two-year term. In the run-up to this transition, the Obama Administration has been making significant efforts to beef up its Arctic policies and objectives. It launched a new National Strategy for the Arctic Region in May

By Sophie des Beauvais Last May, the Arctic Council granted Observer status to six new nations, including China, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Now housing 12 Observer states, the intergovernmental forum created in 1996 to promote cooperation and coordination among Arctic states, has drawn more attention around the world. Arctic Council Observers can

By Erica Dingman Today we are speaking with Dennis Bevington, who is member of Canadian Parliament, representing the Northwest Territories (NWT). Bevington also serves as the official opposition critic for the Arctic Council as a member of the National Democratic Party (NDP). The NWT is an Arctic and sub-Arctic region of Canada so issues concerning

By Cleo Abramian and Yaffa Fredrick Last Friday October 31, World Policy Institute and the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung held a private luncheon and discussion featuring former Vice President Al Gore. The event marked the launch of the Arctic Deeply Roundtables, which seek to engage leading experts and next-generation thinkers on one of the most pressing issues

By Erica Dingman The Arctic’s indigenous peoples are highly vulnerable to ecological change. In a region that is warming at twice the rate of any other global location, permafrost melt, unpredictable weather conditions, and pollutants created elsewhere affect the daily lives of those that live there. This is but an example of a whole host

By Thordur Aegir Oskarsson The Arctic Agenda will without a doubt be affected by the political developments currently taking place in Eastern Europe. In fact, certain meetings of the Arctic Council are already affected by the sanctions against Russia. The question becomes now, how will the turn of events affect Arctic cooperation? The main substantive

By Erica Dingman Let’s face it. The Arctic is not part of America’s collective imagination. Yes, we recognize that the state of Alaska legitimizes our claim as an Arctic nation, but it’s so terribly far away. Maps of the United States sometimes depict Alaska plopped atop the lower 48, looking a bit like a headless