Arctic Security

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The Government of the Faroe Islands released its arctic strategy at the on October 13 at the Arctic Circle Assembly 2022 in Reykjavík. Situated in the GIUK gap between Iceland and Scotland and self-governing since 1948, the 50,000 citizens of the Faroe Islands are under the "external sovereignty" of Denmark. They have a strong focus on Arctic issues and participate in the Arctic Council as part of a delegation to the Arctic Council called Denmark/Greenland/Faroe Islands, which flies the flags of all three nations. With rise in interest in the Arctic Region has come a corresponding rise in interest in nations that straddle strategic points in the Region, of which the Faroe Islands figure prominently. Earlier this year Denmark and the Islands agreed to establish an air surveillance radar in the Faroe Islands, which when operational will cover a critical segment in the GIUK gap. The Faroese strategy references the UN Sustainable Development goals and specifically covers...

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be celebrating its 75th birthday in 2024 and its role is more relevant than ever. NATO has a vested interest in the Arctic through its members: Denmark, Iceland, and Norway are three of the eleven founding members of NATO. They have a special arrangement: no permanent military bases, no nuclear warheads, and no uninvited military exercises in their territories. The USAF Thule airbase in Greenland is an exception allowed by Denmark. Finland and Sweden applied for full NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Twenty-eight of thirty NATO members have ratified their applications, while Turkey and Hungary have complicated and delayed the process for domestic political reasons. Last week the new Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Bauer of the Netherlands , was in Iceland for the Arctic Circle Assembly . While there he pointed out that when Finland and Sweden finish their application process, all Arct...

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is a great resource on that nation's relationships and objectives in the region. One of the issue areas they track is Strategic Asia , and they occasionally check in on Arctic issues as they did in 2018 with a four-part series on China's Polar Silk Road . The author of that series, Sebastian Murdoch-Gibson, also did a 2018 write-up of China's interest in Russia's Yamal LNG plant. Earlier this year the Foundation published A Canadian Arctic Policy for the Indo-Pacific , a hefty eighty-six page report that is required reading on the topic. The report is constructed in three parts: historical perspective, individual nation profiles, and recommendations. The nation profiles are for Japan, South Korea, China, and Singapore. Each has the same format, also in three parts, treating the nation's priorities, engagement approach, and actors. The last section for each nation, on actors, is particularly useful. It is divided into governmen...

The National Security Strategy is a report mandated by Section 603 of the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 ( Public Law 99-433 ). The report is due every four years, but in reality the deadline is treated in a somewhat elastic manner. Previous reports were released in 1987-88, 1990-91, 1993-2000, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2015, and 2017. President Biden released an interim guidance  document in 2021, and on October 12 he released his 2022 National Security Strategy - brief  fact sheet here - which is already receiving  mixed reviews . It should be noted that mixed reviews are essentially all it ever gets, and about the best you can hope for in today's political environment. Within its forty-eight pages the Arctic gets an honorable mention in a section titled, "Maintain a Peaceful Arctic," that reads in its entirety: The United States seeks an Arctic region that is peaceful, stable, prosperous, and cooperative. Climate change is making the Arct...

Updated with announcement of 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region.  During the Obama and Trump administrations there was concern in some quarters about a stagnation of US Arctic policy , even as other nations were stepping up their interest and activities in the region - including a doubling in 2013 of the number of Arctic Council observer states  that included China. Fast-forward just a few years and the situation has changed rapidly, beginning with the 2019 release of the Department of Defense Arctic Strategy and the subsequent releases in 2020 and 2021 of Arctic strategies for the Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Department of Homeland Security. President Biden's August 2022 announcement that an Arctic ambassador will be appointed, followed by his October release of an updated National Strategy for the Arctic Region , leave no doubt that Arctic security policy is front and center for some time to come. A visual representation of key documents and events...

Hot of the press, the White House has released its 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The fifteen-page strategy outlines four pillars: Security Climate Change and Environmental Protection Sustainable Economic Development International Cooperation and Governance Work on the pillars will be guided by five principles Consult, Coordinate, and Co-Manage with Alaska Native Tribes and Communities Deepen Relationships with Allies and Partners Plan for Long Lead-Time Investments Cultivate Cross-Sectoral Coalitions and Innovative Ideas Commit to a Whole of Government, Evidence-Based Approach A brief fact sheet was also provided which explicitly acknowledged increased competition with Russia and China in the region: "This strategy, an update of its 2013 predecessor , addresses the climate crisis with greater urgency and directs new investments in sustainable development to improve livelihoods for Arctic residents, while conserving the environment. It also accounts for increasing...

The Arctic is hot these days, and it's not just the climate. The United States in particular has accelerated its policy activities as we covered in a recent timeline analysis . A mere week after we published that article came the announcement by the Department of Defense that it is establishing an Arctic Strategy and Resilience Office , with an affiliated Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense to head it. The new office announcement itself follows on the heels of two big announcements, just a month prior: the opening of the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies , and a new Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Region. The proliferation of offices and roles for Arctic policy set our heads spinning, so we did what we do best, and that was to create a map of the Arctic policy ecosystem as we understand it. This is our first draft, and we will see how it proofs out over time: One of the first things we figured out early was that we needed to choose a perspective or else end up wi...

Alaska was famously described by Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell in 1935 as "The most strategic place on earth." Alaska-based assets have been particularly active lately in supporting the Arctic policy of the United States. Last month the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies held its official ribbon-cutting ceremony to become the newest Department of Defense regional center . Alaskan Command on August 26 hosted Arctic Resolve 2022 , "The first of the three-day exercise [consisting] of a series of academic briefings pertaining to the nature of seismic activity, natural disaster emergency preparation, and the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s role in disaster response." Space Force "started building a gateway site at Clear Space Force Station, Alaska, where it will operate two new polar communications payloads scheduled to launch in 2023 on a Space Norway mission," part of the space strategy collaboration between the ...

First published in 2020 and newly available in paperback , The Routledge Handbook of Arctic Security is an edited collection of essays on Arctic security topics by an array of academics and researchers, the majority of them from Norway. In recent years Routledge has published quite a few good titles on economic, environmental, and security policy in the Arctic, and this one is no exception. Editors Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, Marc Lanteigne, and Horatio Sam-Aggrey, present two introductory chapters followed by thirty-three chapters in a hefty 462 pages. The non-introductory chapters are 10-15 pages in length and are organized into five sections that also feature a number of figures, tables and maps: Theorizing Arctic Security The Arctic powers: "Arctic Five" and "Arctic Eight" Security in the Arctic through governance Non-Arctic states, regional, and international organizations People, states, and security The introductory chapter argues that historical tendencies to...

Over a decade ago John Allen Paulos, Professor of Mathematics at Temple University and author of multiple books on the intersection of numbers and narratives, published an intriguing article in the New York Times wherein he observed, "In listening to stories we tend to suspend disbelief in order to be entertained, whereas in evaluating statistics we generally have an opposite inclination to suspend belief in order not to be beguiled." Stories and data are both important of course, and while it may not be surprising that we treat them in different ways it is critical for policy advocates to know that as humans we have evolved to have a preference for stories over data. This was illustrated in a 2007 experiment that showed that a story alone beat both data and a combination of story and data in soliciting donations for a worthy cause. Another quote from Chip Heath, author of Made to Stick, drives the point home : "In the average one-minute speech, the typical student us...

On August 26, 2022, President Biden moved Arctic policy higher on the national agenda with the announcement of a new  ambassador-at-large position for the Arctic region: "The Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Region will advance U.S. policy in the Arctic, engage with counterparts in Arctic and non-Arctic nations as well as Indigenous groups, and work closely with domestic stakeholders, including state, local, and Tribal governments, businesses, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, other federal government agencies and Congress." Once a nominee is selected that person will have to be confirmed by the Senate. Arctic policy is currently overseen by a coordinator within the State Department, so this escalation has the potential to significantly increase activity in the policy sphere. The move follows on other recent actions by the administration focused on the Arctic, such as the reactivation of the Arctic Steering Committee last year. The announcement also comes a...

On hiatus since Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea, the Arctic Chiefs of Defense Forum - less Russia - convened in St. John's, Canada, on August 8, to discuss cooperation among the nations. Russia indicated in January it wanted to resume these meeting s after assuming its second two-year chair of the Arctic Council last year. This was short-circuited by their March invasion of Ukraine, which caused all the non-Russian members of the Council to issue a joint statement suspending participation in the Council. It is unclear that Russian participation in the Forum would have any utility, and in fact it could actually be counterproductive as Russia would use the Forum to attempt to normalize its extralegal behavior, both in the Arctic and elsewhere. Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyr, stated after the meeting , "We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners in strengthening our domain awareness, surveillance, and command and control capabili...

By Rob Huebert, associate professor at the University of Calgary and a senior research fellow with the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, August 4, 2022,  High North News - " Russia’s new 55-page naval doctrine places significant emphasis on the Arctic outlining the country’s priorities in the region and mentioning the Arctic across 22 pages." In a mirror image of the way US and NATO strategy documents identify Russia and China as security concerns in the Arctic, the Russian document similarly classifies the US and NATO. Of particular note is a comment by Dmitry Litovkin, editor-in-chief of the TASS magazine Military-Technical Cooperation: "The Ministry of Defense is building an icebreaking fleet, and these are not just icebreakers that will be engaged in port activities, they have an "open stern" principle, respectively, a helicopter can be landed on this stern, or a sea container can be placed, which will contain cruise missiles, torpedo launchers a...

August 3, 2022 - Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced a " comprehensive Arctic bill [focused] on national security, research, shipping, and trade... It requires reports on eliminating Russia’s monopoly on Arctic shipping and establishing a permanent U.S. maritime presence in the Arctic. It calls for investments in deepwater Arctic ports and improves coordination among federal agencies on Arctic matters." Cosponsored by Maine Independent Sen. Angus King, the bill details include: Eliminating a Russian monopoly on Arctic shipping; Establishing a permanent maritime presence in the U.S. Arctic at multiple Alaska ports; Amending the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to allow the export of liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, and ammonia; Amending the Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1984 to reflect the importance of research pertaining to climate change and the critical role of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission; Permanently establishing the Arctic Executive Steering Committee...

Coast Guard Hosts Senior Leader Arctic Orientation Visit to Strengthen Partnerships in the Arctic , by Homeland Security Today, July 28, 2022. "The Coast Guard 17th District, and Sector Anchorage hosted visitors from Washington, D.C., in Anchorage, Alaska, July 18-19, 2022, to improve unity of effort in the region. The two-day tour provided policy makers and mission managers exposure to the expanded missions, emerging threats, and key regional stakeholders throughout the Arctic domain." The US Coast Guard is a critical player in Alaska, given its extensive coastline, proximity to Russia, and access to the Northern Sea Route. Integrated Support Command Kodiak is the largest US Coast Guard base at 23,000 acres, and the only one to host both aircraft and ships. The visit exposed attendees to the effects of climate change and facilitated the development of relationships to better coordinate the efforts of policy makers and mission managers.

Army Tackles Arctic Challenges Alongside European Allies , by Mikayla Easley, August 2, 2022 in National Defense Magazine . The author covers the renewed emphasis on Arctic operations by the US Army, including the Army's 2021 strategy document,  Regaining Arctic Dominance: The US Army in the Arctic . During a discussion of Army strategy at a recent defense defense exhibition in Paris, Maj. Gen. Peter Andrysiak, deputy commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, stated, " “We have a significant gap in operating in areas of extreme cold, … in high levels of snowfall and in mountainous terrain,” Closing this gap is critical in the face of expanded Arctic presence and operations by Russian and China. France and Finland have facilities that allow regular large-scale training in Arctic conditions. The US Army in the 1990s did the same in Alaska, when I graduated from the mountain warfare course at the Black Rapids Training Site, operated by the Northern Warfare Training Center at Ft....

Satellite Images Show Huge Russian Military Buildup in the Arctic , by Nick Walsh, CNN, April 5, 2021: "Russia is amassing unprecedented military might in the Arctic and testing its newest weapons in a region freshly ice-free due to the climate emergency, in a bid to secure its northern coast and open up a key shipping route from Asia to Europe." Walsh uses imagery from Maxar to show the extent of Russian military expansion along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). This is primarily being accomplished by updating Cold War-era bases, deploying advanced existing weapons systems, and testing new ones including the Poseidon 2M39 nuclear stealth torpedo and the Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile. Russia likely sees the newly open waters of the NSR as a strategic vulnerability as well as providing new economic opportunities for natural resource extraction and commercial shipping. The latter could affect 90 percent of world shipping as "The 'NSR' potentially halves ...

Exploring Gaps in Arctic Governance: Identifying Potential Sources of Conflict and Mitigating Measures  is a 2021 RAND report by Benjamin Sacks et al. Together with an interactive map,  Potential Drivers of Crises in the Arctic , it explores "six categories of potential conflict catalysts": Russia's central role in Arctic access; Increasing safety and environmental risks; The Arctic as a gray zone; Challenges to the current rules of Arctic governance; China's increased economic and political involvement in the Arctic, and; Uncertainty about Greenland's geopolitical future. The authors identify "three key governance gaps in relation to these catalysts": Limited dialogue and transparency on military issues; Limited capability to execute governance agreements, and; Tension between the growing need for inclusivity and Arctic states' interests. The report finds that "Such gaps do not themselves create conflict but could provide an opportunity or a mo...

A U.S. Security Strategy for the Arctic was posted to War on the Rocks by David Auerswald on May 27, 2021. Auerswald is a professor of security studies at the U.S. National War College in Washington, DC. In the article Auerswald details the geopolitical competition in the Arctic from Russia and China, the shortcomings of the current patchwork US approach, and he promotes three goals for a reinvigorated US Arctic security strategy: Deter military attacks against U.S. or allied territory originating from the Arctic Prevent China or Russia from weakening existing rules-based Arctic governance through coercion, and; Prevent regional hegemony by either China or Russia. Auerswald promotes a three-pronged strategy to accomplish these goals: Develop military capabilities for use in the North American and European Arctic subregions and then demonstrate the ability to use them in harsh Arctic conditions; Persuade regional allies and partners that the United States can be a trusted security pa...