Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T15:21:45.332Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Do the cures match the problem? Reforming the Arctic Council

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2019

Malgorzata Smieszek
Malgorzata Smieszek*
Affiliation:
Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, P.O. Box 122, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
*
Author for correspondence: Malgorzata Smieszek, Email: malgorzata.smieszek@ulapland.fi
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite its numerous valuable contributions to Arctic governance, throughout its history the Arctic Council (AC) has been subject to criticism and reform proposals from academic, non-governmental and practitioner communities alike. In order to inform this ongoing debate, the paper evaluates the proposals that have been presented for the AC thus far. The proposals are grouped into three clusters: legal reforms, organisational reforms and functional reforms. Each of them is examined in terms of its applicability and usefulness to the case of the AC, and specifically its suitability given the prevailing conditions in the Arctic. What the conducted analysis reveals is that the ideas regarding means to enhance the AC’s effectiveness can be largely attributed to the assumptions their proponents make—oftentimes implicitly—about the nature of state actors and international relations more broadly, without attending to the particular conditions of the case study at hand. This is an important inference, given the unrelenting change happening in both Arctic and global socio-environmental settings that calls into question the usefulness of past modes of thinking and forms of international cooperation. Far from offering solutions, their continuous application in particular circumstances might even impede progress in addressing present and future challenges.

Keywords

ArcticArctic CouncilGovernanceEffectivenessInstitutional reform
Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , May 2019 , pp. 121 - 131
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

2nd Arctic Science Ministerial. (2018). Joint Statement of Ministers on the Occasion of the Second Arctic Science Ministerial. Berlin: Federal Republic of Germany.Google Scholar
ACIA. (2005). Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Arctic Athabaskan Council. (2007). Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Arctic Council: A discussion paper. URL: http://www.arcticgovernance.org/getfile.php/953438.1529.pavwstvrfe/AAC+Arctic+Council+future+Dec+2006.pdf (accessed 12 January 2019).Google Scholar
Arctic Council . (1996). Declaration on the Establishment of the Arctic Council, Ottawa, Canada.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (1998). Arctic Council Rules of Procedure (as Adopted by the Arctic Council at the First Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, Iqaluit, Canada, 17–18 September 1998) (pp. 1–11).Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2000). Barrow Declaration on the Occasion of the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Barrow, Alaska, USA, 13 October 2000.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2002). SAOs Report to Ministers on the Review of the Arctic Council Structures. Annex 1 to the SAO Report to the Ministers. Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Inari, Finland, 9–10 October 2002.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2006). Salekhard Declaration on the Occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Arctic Council. Fifth AC Ministerial Meeting, Salekhard, Russia, 26 October.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2009a). Senior Arctic Official (SA0) Report to Ministers, Tromsø Norway, April 2009.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2009b) Tromsø Declaration on the Occasion of the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Tromsø, Norway, 29 April 2009.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2011a). Nuuk Declaration on the Occasion of the Seventh Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Nuuk, Greenland, 12 May 2011.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2011b). Senior Arctic Officials (SAO) Report to Ministers, Nuuk, Greenland, May 2011.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2013a). Arctic Council rules of procedure. Revised by the Arctic Council at the Eight Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, Kiruna, Sweden, 15 May 2013.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2013b). Kiruna Declaration.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2013c). Vision for the Arctic.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2015). Iqaluit Declaration 2015 on the Occasion of the Ninth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Iqaluit, Canada, 24 April 2015.Google Scholar
Arctic Council. (2017). Fairbanks Declaration on the Occasion of the Tenth Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA, 11 May 2017.Google Scholar
Arctic Governance Project (Ed.). (2010). Arctic Governance in an Era of Transformative Change: Critical Questions, Governance Principles, Ways Forward.Google Scholar
Bloom, E. (1999). Establishment of the Arctic Council. American Journal of International Law, 93(3), 712–722.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borgerson, S. G. (2008). Arctic meltdown. The economic and security implications of global warming. Foreign Affairs, 87(2), 63–77.Google Scholar
Byers, M. (2016). The Arctic Council: Maintaining peace through cooperation. The UArctic Magazine Shared Voices. Special Issue. Arctic Council at 20, 36–37.Google Scholar
Casper, K. (2009). Oil and gas development in the Arctic: Softening of ice demands hardening of international aw. Natural Resources Journal, 49(3/4), 825–881.Google Scholar
Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. (2012). The 10th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. Conference Report. Akureyri, Iceland.Google Scholar
Conley, H. A., & Melino, M. (2016). An Arctic Redesign. Recommendations to Rejuvenate the Arctic Council.Google Scholar
Corell, H. (2006). Innovation in the Arctic Governance: The Possibilities and Limitations of a Binding Legal Regime for the Artic, Kiruna, Sweden.Google Scholar
Dubois, M.-A., Eichbaum, B., Shestakov, A., Sommerkorn, M., & Tesar, C. (2016). Arctic Council upgrade : WWF Arctic programme policy note. Arctic Yearbook 2016. The Arctic Council: 20 Years of Regional Cooperation and Policy-Shaping, 103–108.Google Scholar
Eichbaum, W. M. (2013). Arctic stewardship: The evolution of a new model for international governance. Environmental Law Reporter, 43(10), 10863–10868.Google Scholar
English, J. (2013). Ice and Water. Politics, Peoples, and the Arctic Council. Toronto: Penguin Group.Google Scholar
European Parliament. (2008). Resolution of 9 October 2008 on Arctic Governance. Brussels: European Parliament.Google Scholar
Exner-Pirot, H. (2016). The Arctic Council, a victory for soft law & soft security. The UArctic Magazine Shared Voices. Special Issue. Arctic Council at 20, 34–35.Google Scholar
Fenge, T. (2013). The Arctic Council: Past, present, and future prospects with Canada in the chair from 2013 to 2015. The Northern Review, 37(Fall 2013), 7–35.Google Scholar
Fenge, T., & Funston, B. (2015). The Practice and Promise of the Arctic Council. Independent Report Commissioned by Greenpeace.Google Scholar
Graczyk, P. (2011). Observers in the Arctic Council—evolution and prospects. Yearbook of Polar Law, 3, 575–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graczyk, P. (2012). The Arctic Council inclusive on non-Arctic perspectives: seeking a new balance. In Axworthy, T. S., Koivurova, T., & Hasanat, W. (Eds.), The Arctic Council: Its Place in the Future of Arctic Governance (pp. 261–305). Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program.Google Scholar
Graczyk, P., & Koivurova, T. (2013). A new era in the Arctic Council’s external relations? Broader consequences of the Nuuk observer rules for Arctic governance. Polar Record, 1–12. doi: 10.1017/S0032247412000824 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graff, J. (2007, September 19). Fight for the top of the world. Time.Google Scholar
Haavisto, P. (2001). Review of the Arctic Council Structures. Consultant’s Study Prepared for the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, Inari, Helsinki, Finland, 9–10 October 2002.Google Scholar
Hasenclever, A., Mayer, P., & Rittberger, V. (1996). Interests, power, knowledge: The study of international regimes. Mershon International Studies Review, 40(2), 177–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huebert, R. (2016, September 19). Evaluating the Arctic Council at 20 (Or 27!). World Policy Blog. Arctic in Context. URL: http://www.worldpolicy.org/blog/2016/09/19/evaluating-arctic-council-20-or-27 (accessed 10 January 2019).Google Scholar
Ilulissat Declaration. (2008). Arctic Ocean Conference, Ilulissat, Greenland, 27–29 May 2008.Google Scholar
Kankaanpää, P. (2012). Knowledge structures of the Arctic Council: For sustainable development. In Axworthy, T. S., Koivurova, T., & Hasanat, W. (Eds.), The Arctic Council: Its Place in the Future of Arctic Governance (pp. 83–112). Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program.Google Scholar
Kankaanpää, P., & Smieszek, M. (Eds.). (2014). Assessments in Policy-Making: Case Studies from the Arctic Council. Preparatory Action, Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment of development of the Arctic. Arctic Centre, University of Lapland.Google Scholar
Kankaanpää, P., & Young, O. R. (2012). The effectiveness of the Arctic Council. Polar Research, 31, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kao, S. M., Pearre, N. S., & Firestone, J. (2012). Adoption of the arctic search and rescue agreement: A shift of the Arctic regime toward a hard law basis? Marine Policy, 36(3), 832–838. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2011.12.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khan, S. A. (2017). The global commons through a regional lens: The Arctic Council on short-lived climate pollutants. Transnational Environmental Law, 6(01), 131–152. doi: 10.1017/S2047102516000157 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koivurova, T. (2003). The Limits of the Arctic Council, 186–188. URL: http://www.rha.is/static/files/NRF/OpenAssemblies/Oulu2006/project-legal_koivurova.pdf (accessed 12 December 2018).Google Scholar
Koivurova, T. (2009). Limits and possibilities of the Arctic Council in a rapidly changing scene of Arctic governance. Polar Record, 46(02), 146. doi: 10.1017/S0032247409008365 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koivurova, T., & Heinämäki, L. (2006). The participation of indigenous peoples in international norm-making in the Arctic. Polar Record, 42(221), 101–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koivurova, T., & Molenaar, E. J. (2010). International Governance and Regulation of the Marine Arctic: Overview and Gap Analysis. Oslo: WWF International Arctic Programme. doi: 10.4337/9781781009413.00012 Google Scholar
Koivurova, T., & VanderZwaag, D. (2007). The Arctic Council and 10 years: Retrospect and prospects. University of British Columbia Law Review, 40(1), 121–194.Google Scholar
Molenaar, E. J. (2012). Current and prospective roles of the Arctic Council system within the context of the law of the sea. The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 27. doi: 10.1163/15718085-12341234 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nilsson, A. E. (2012). Knowing the Arctic: The Arctic Council as a cognitive forerunner. In Axworthy, T. S., Koivurova, T., & Hasanat, W. (Eds.), The Arctic Council: Its Place in the Future of Arctic Governance (pp. 190–224). Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program.Google Scholar
Nilsson, A. E., & Meek, C. L. (2016). Learning to live with change. In Carson, M. & Peterson, G. (Eds.), Arctic Resilience Report (pp. 147–161). Stockholm: Stockholm Environment Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre.Google Scholar
Nord, D. C. (2016). The Arctic Council. Governance Within the Far North. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chairmanship, Norwegian. (2006). Common objectives and priorities for the Norwegian, Danish, Swedish chairmanships of the Arctic Council (2006–2012).Google Scholar
Nowlan, L. (2001). Arctic Legal Regime for Environmental Protection. IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper No. 44. IUCN Environmental Law Programme.Google Scholar
NSIDC. (2009, October 6). Arctic sea ice extent remains low; 2009 sees third-lowest mark. URL: https://nsidc.org/news/newsroom/20091005_minimumpr.html (accessed 10 January 2019).Google Scholar
Offerdal, K. (2007). Oil, gas and the environment. In Stokke, O. S. & Honneland, G. (Eds.), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance. Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building (pp. 138–163). London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pedersen, T. (2012). Debates over the role of the Arctic Council. Ocean Development & International Law, 43(2), 146–156. doi: 10.1080/00908320.2012.672289 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rottem, S. V. (2016). The Arctic Council: Vision, Structure and Participation. Fridtjof Nansen Institute. FNI Report 4/2016.Google Scholar
Scrivener, D. (1999). Arctic environmental cooperation in transition. Polar Record, 35(192), 51–58. doi: 10.1017/S0032247400026334 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sellheim, N. (2012). The establishment of the permanent Arctic Council Secretariat: Challenges and opportunities. In Axworthy, T., Koivurova, T., & Hasanat, W. M. (Eds.), The Arctic Council: Its Place in the Future of Arctic Governance (pp. 60–82). Munk-Gordon Arctic Security Program.Google Scholar
Shapovalova, D. (2016). The effectiveness of the regulatory regime for black carbon mitigation in the Arctic. Arctic Review on Law and Politics, 7(2), 136–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shelton, D. L. (2000). Introduction. Law, non-law and the problem of “Soft Law”. In Shelton, D. L. (Ed.), Commitment and Compliance: The Role of Non-Binding Norms in the International Legal System (pp. 1–18). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Snidal, D. (1985). Coordination versus prisoners’ dilemma: Implications for international cooperation and regimes. The American Political Science Review, 79(4), 923–942.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spence, J. (2013). Strengthening the Arctic Council: Insights from the architecture behind Canadian participation. Northern Review, 37(Fall 2013), 37–56.Google Scholar
Spence, J. (2017). Is a melting Arctic making the Arctic Council too cool? Exploring the limits of the effectiveness of a boundary organization. Review of Policy Research. doi: 10.1111/ropr.12257 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokke, O. S. (2006). The law of the sea convention and the idea of a binding regime for the Arctic Marine Environment. In Paper prepared for the 7th Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic region, Kiruna, Sweden, 2–4 August 2006.Google Scholar
Stokke, O. S. (2007). Examining the consequences of Arctic institutions. In Stokke, O. S. & Honneland, G. (Eds.), International Cooperation and Arctic Governance. Regime Effectiveness and Northern Region Building. London and New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stokke, O. S. (2011). Interplay management, Niche selection, and Arctic environmental governance. In Managing Institutional Complexity: Regime Interplay and Global Environmental Change (pp. 143–170). Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokke, O. S. (2013). Regime interplay in Arctic shipping governance: Explaining regional niche selection. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 13(123), 65–85. doi: 10.1007/s10784-012-9202-1 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supreme Audit Institutions of Denmark, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States of America (2015). The Arctic Council: perspectives on a changing Arctic, the Council’s work, and key challenges. A Joint Memorandum of a Multilateral Audit on the Arctic States’ national authorities’ work with the Arctic Council.Google Scholar
TASS. (2018, November 29). Russia, China may cooperate in Arctic energy projects — Rosneft CEO. TASS: Business & Economy. http://tass.com/economy/1033451 (accessed 12 January 2019).Google Scholar
Tennberg, M. (1999). Arctic Environmental Cooperation. A Study in Governmentality. Rovaniemi: University of Lapland.Google Scholar
The Aspen Institute. (2011). The Shared Future: A Report of the Aspen Institute Commission on Arctic Climate Change (Vol. 36).Google Scholar
Turunen, M., & Kankaanpää, P. (2002). The visibility of the Arctic Council—Results of a background study. Arctic Centre Report, 37. URL: http://arcticcentre.ulapland.fi/docs/ArcticCouncil-raportti2002.pdf (accessed 10 December 2018).Google Scholar
United States Geological Survey. (2008). Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal: Estimates of Undiscovered Oil and Gas North of the Arctic Circle. URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3049/fs2008-3049.pdf (accessed 15 January 2019).Google Scholar
VanderZwaag, D., Huebert, R., & Ferrara, S. (2001). Artic environmental protection strategy, Arctic Council and multilateral environmental initiatives: Tinkering while the Artic marine environmental totter’s. Denver Journal of International Law and Policy, 30(1994).Google Scholar
Wilson, P. (2016). Society, steward or security actor? Three visions of the Arctic Council. Cooperation and Conflict, 51(1), 55–74. doi: 10.1177/0010836715591711 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WWF Arctic Programme. (2017). WWF Arctic Council Conservation Scorecard. Ottawa, ON.Google Scholar
Young, O. R. (1998). Creating Regimes: Arctic Accords and International Governance. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Young, O. R. (1999). Governance in World Affairs. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Young, O. R. (2000). The structure of Arctic cooperation: Solving problems/seizing opportunities. A Paper Prepared for the Fourth Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, Rovaniemi, 27–29 August 2000.Google Scholar
Young, O. R. (2008). Building regimes for socioecological systems. In Young, O. R., King, L. A., & Schroeder, H. (Eds.), Institutions and Environmental Change. Principal Findings, Applications, and Research Frontiers (pp. 115–144). Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: The MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, O. R. (2009a). The Arctic in play: Governance in a time of rapid change. The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 24, 423–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, O. R. (2009b). Whither the Arctic? Conflict or cooperation in the circumpolar north. Polar Record, 45(01), 73. doi: 10.1017/S0032247408007791 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, O. R. (2009c). Whither the Arctic 2009? Further developments. Polar Record, 45(02), 179. doi: 10.1017/S0032247408008061 CrossRefGoogle Scholar