(Re)Conceptualizing Security Nexus of the ‘global’ Arctic

In the end of the Cold War one of the special features of Arctic security was environmental security due to long-range pollution and severe nuclear accidents. This environmental degradation was followed by growing concern on a state of the environment and ‘environmental awakening’ which pushed the Arctic states to start cooperation for environmental protection. As a result of this new cooperation high political stability was achieved in the Arctic region. At the 2010s, there is a new nexus of climate change and other ‘wicked’ problems, exploitation of (energy) resources, (human) security, and state sovereignty and policies. The new nexus much dominatespolitical discussion on, as well as academic discourse of, Arctic geopolitics and security, as well as policies of the Arctic states. Future security of the globalized Arctic will be influenced by all these phenomena, plus ‘migration’ (much due to refugees) as a new one. This presentation will analyze the development of Arctic security nexus, and its different stages and features. It will also discuss on worldwide implications of the globalized Arctic, and based on this draw up a holistic picture on the security nexus, and ask whether this would be a new definition for the ‘regional security complex’. Finally, the presentation will speculate, whether ‘human security’ or ‘environmental modification’ could be seen as solutions.