Claiming the Arctic – Discourse Analysis of the Swedish National Strategy for the Arctic Region

The Arctic is the latest region to be embroiled in the international battle for natural resources and the region is under politicization by a number of states and organizations. One sign of this are states’ growing interest in staking claims of the Arctic, by designing policies for the region. This paper aims to analyze the Swedish Arctic policy by using discourse analysis based on perspectives of critical geopolitics combined with intersectionality and (de)coloniality. The analysis demonstrates that the Arctic is often narrated through reports of ‘unexploited’ as well as ‘undiscovered’ natural resources and that these narrationsin turn inspire a (re)discovery of the Artic. Moreover, policy for the Arctic is seen as a viable tool in the process of positioning a country as a legitimate key actor for the region.