UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Professor of High North Studies, Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, believes the Arctic is divided between a NATO-led western Arctic and a Russian Arctic with close ties to the BRICS countries, particularly China and India. The Arctic’s delineation of global power constellations can be traced far back and will also continue into the future.
He believes there are two common, but incorrect, narratives about the Arctic. One is based on the idea of ’Arctic exceptionalism’ – that the cooperation in the Arctic is not impacted by conflict in other areas. The other is the narrative around the interest in the Arctic and that the region gained importance in the last 15 years due to climate change and a race for resources.
However, the Arctic has reflected international orders for centuries, he writes in a new research article. The increasing rivalry between the West and a growing non-western bloc led by China and Russia is no exemption. […]
Bertelsen writes that the Arctic is now divided between a NATO Arctic, spearheaded by the US, and a Russian Arctic, seeking cooperation with BRICS+ countries. This reflects a global rivalry between the US/NATO and Russia/China, in which cooperation is minimal and the risk of conflict is heightened.
The researcher believes the world is heading toward a deep and long-term conflict between the US and NATO+ on one side and BRICS+ on the other. This divide will impact the Arctic, in which geopolitical tensions will likely strengthen instead of decreasing. This will lead to more conflict and less economic development and growth, as opposed to the globalization after the Cold War. […]
”The US will maintain a strong interest in the Barents region to threaten the Russian nuclear deterrent (US counterforce strategy), as well as for access to intelligence aimed at Russia, which is reflected in Norwegian-US intelligence cooperation throughout the Cold War and later,” the researcher concludes. Läs artikel