Britain In The Arctic A Strategy For British Research In The Arctic

A discussion of the scientific interests of Britain in the Arctic, in the physical sciences and socio-economic and environmental areas, and recommendations for the direction and funding of future research.

British interest in the Arctic has returned to heights not seen since the end of the Cold War; concerns about climate change, resources, trade, and national security are all impacted by profound environmental and geopolitical changes happening in the Arctic. Duncan Depledge investigates the increasing geopolitical significance of the Arctic and explores why it took until now for Britain – once an ‘Arctic state’ itself – to notice how close it is to these changes, what its contemporary interests in the region are, and whether the British government’s response in the arenas of science, defence, and commerce is enough. This book will be of interest to both academics and practitioners seeking to understand contemporary British interest and activity in the Arctic.

This book offers a broad and holistic overview of issues in the Arctic today, a region which is transforming due to changing world order and climate agenda. While new economic opportunities - and with China, as well as other geopolitical players in the region - are emerging, new security challenges are arising as well. In this comprehensive scholarly resource, contributors from around the world and from a broad variety of disciplines share their thoughts on the future of the Arctic, in a manuscript that will be of interest to researchers, economists, and policymakers.

The Arctic region has been the subject of much popular writing. This book considers nineteenth-century representations of the Arctic, and draws upon an extensive range of evidence that will allow the 'widest connections' to emerge from a 'cross-disciplinary analysis' using different methodologies and subject matter. It positions the Arctic alongside more thoroughly investigated theatres of Victorian enterprise. In the nineteenth century, most images were in the form of paintings, travel narratives, lectures given by the explorers themselves and photographs. The book explores key themes in Arctic images which impacted on subsequent representations through text, painting and photography. For much of the nineteenth century, national and regional geographical societies promoted exploration, and rewarded heroic endeavor. The book discusses images of the Arctic which originated in the activities of the geographical societies. The Times provided very low-key reporting of Arctic expeditions, as evidenced by its coverage of the missions of Sir John Franklin and James Clark Ross. However, the illustrated weekly became one of the main sources of popular representations of the Arctic. The book looks at the exhibitions of Arctic peoples, Arctic exploration and Arctic fauna in Britain. Late nineteenth-century exhibitions which featured the Arctic were essentially nostalgic in tone. The Golliwogg's Polar Adventures, published in 1900, drew on adult representations of the Arctic and will have confirmed and reinforced children's perceptions of the region. Text books, board games and novels helped to keep the subject alive among the young.

This book examines the growing interest by Asian states, which are normally considered as ‘outsiders’ in the Arctic governance system. Whilst existing research asserts that Asian states are mostly interested in the economic aspect of the changing Arctic, including its mineral and fossil sources and the opening up of new sea routes, the book argues that the relation between Asian states and the Arctic is much more complex and dynamic, grounded in their unique perspective on national security and the role of economic development in securing their national interests.

This report calls for a halt on Arctic oil drilling until: a pan-Arctic oil spill response standard is in place; a stricter financial liability regime for oil and gas operations is introduced that requires companies to prove that they can meet the costs of cleaning up; an oil and gas industry group is set up to peer-review companies' spill response plans and operating practices, reporting publicly; further independent research and testing on oil spill response techniques in Arctic conditions is conducted, including an assessment of their environmental side-effects; an internationally recognised environmental sanctuary is established in at least part of the Arctic. Drilling is only currently feasible in the Arctic during a short summer window and if a blow-out occurred just before the dark Arctic winter returned it may not be possible to cap it until the following summer - potentially leaving oil spewing out under the ice for six months or more with devastating consequences for wildlife. This report also warns that a collapse in summer Arctic sea-ice, increased methane emissions from thawing permafrost, melting of the Greenland ice-sheet and changes to the thermo-haline circulation could all have disastrous consequences for the world - pushing up sea levels and transforming weather patterns. Temperature rises in the Arctic are already affecting the UK's weather. The report points out that there are already more proven fossil fuel reserves in the world than can be burnt safely and calls on the Government to rethink its approach to combating climate change by tackling the supply of fossil fuels, as well as demand

Increased global interest in the Arctic poses challenges to contemporary international relations and many questions surround exactly why and how Arctic countries are asserting their influence and claims over their northern reaches and why and how non-Arctic states are turning their attention to the region. Despite the inescapable reality in the growth of interest in the Arctic, relatively little analysis on the international relations aspects of such interest has been done. Traditionally, international relations studies are focused on particular aspects of Arctic relations, but to date there has been no comprehensive effort to explain the region as a whole. Literature on Arctic politics is mostly dedicated to issues such as development, the environment and climate change, or indigenous populations. International relations, traditionally interested in national and international security, has been mostly silent in its engagement with Arctic politics. Essential concepts such as security, sovereignty, institutions, and norms are all key aspects of what is transpiring in the Arctic, and deserve to be explained in order to better comprehend exactly why the Arctic is of such interest. The sheer number of states and organizations currently involved in Arctic international relations make the region a prime case study for scholars, policymakers and interested observers. In this first systematic study of Arctic international relations, Robert W. Murray and Anita Dey Nuttall have brought together a group of the world's leading experts in Arctic affairs to demonstrate the multifaceted and essential nature of circumpolar politics. This book is core reading for political scientists, historians, anthropologists, geographers and any other observer interested in the politics of the Arctic region.