The ”new” Arctic – the Military Dimension

Authors

  • Paal Sigurd Hilde Center for Norwegian and European Security at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies (IFS), Norwegian Defense University College

Abstract

The growing international attention the Arctic witnessed from the early 2000s was initially garnered chiefly by ecological concerns on the one hand, and petroleum resources on the other. In 2007, however, the perception emerged in earnest that a race for the Arctic was taking place. This chapter examines the origins of this geopolitical interpretation of Arctic developments and analyses in detail one of its key aspects: the notion of an Arctic arms race. It surveys the Arctic-related, military investments of the five Arctic littoral states, as well as those of the United Kingdom, and concludes that there is scant evidence of an arms race in the Arctic. Moreover, it argues that much of the military investment in the Arctic must be understood in the context of the global interests of the US and Russia, and that of the opening Arctic.

Author Biography

Paal Sigurd Hilde, Center for Norwegian and European Security at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies (IFS), Norwegian Defense University College

Paal Sigurd Hilde is associate professor and head of the Center for Norwegian and European Security at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies (IFS), Norwegian Defense University College. He received his DPhil in politics at the University of Oxford (St. Antony’s College) in 2003. His main research interests include Norwegian security and defense policy, NATO and Arctic security affairs and he has published both in Norway and internationally on these topics.  Prior to joining IFS in 2008, Dr. Hilde was a senior adviser in the Department for security policy in the Norwegian Ministry of Defense (2004-08).

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Published

2014-01-23

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2013)

Section

Articles