This comprehensive text explains the relationship between the Arctic and the wider world through the lenses of international relations, international law, and political economy. It is an essential resource for any student or scholar seeking a clear and succinct account of a region of ever-growing international importance.

Chapter One What the Arctic Tells us about World Affairs¿Cooperation Under Uncertainty¿Governance¿Cooperation¿Common v More Complex Representations of Arctic Affairs¿The Arctic and its Indigenous Peoples in World Affairs¿The Arctic Region and Policy Tools Used to Manage it¿Regions are Created by People through Discourses¿Governing the Arctic: International Law¿What the Arctic Tells Us about International Relations Theory¿Assumptions of Realism, Liberalism, and Critical Theories¿Regime Theory¿Arctic Puzzles for International Relations Theorists¿One Cannot Explain the Arctic without International Law¿The Arctic has Weak Institutions and Strong Cooperation¿The Arctic Illustrates Creative Uses of Sovereignty¿Human Security Rivals National Security¿Climate Change Matters in Governance Efforts.¿Organization of the BookChapter Two: A Natural and Human History of the Arctic¿The Natural History of the Arctic¿The Physical Geography of the Arctic¿Cooling and Warming in the Arctic¿Changing Atmospheric Chemistry¿Greenhouse Gases and Permafrost¿Sea Ice¿Glaciers and Ice Sheets¿Arctic Warming and Ocean Currents¿Biodiversity in the Arctic¿Settlement of the Arctic¿Eurasia¿Migrations to North America¿Economic Life¿Viking Exploration¿The Rise of the Sovereign European Arctic States and Colonization of the Arctic¿Early Formation of the Arctic States of Europe¿Rise of the Modern System of States¿Mapping the Arctic, Gaining Control¿Colonization¿Changing State Borders through War¿The Napoleonic Wars¿World War I¿World War II¿Hot War to Cold War¿International Cooperation¿ConclusionsChapter Three: Arctic Players¿The Indigenous in the Arctic¿Arctic States¿The United States¿Canada¿The Kingdom of Denmark¿Iceland¿Norway¿Sweden¿Finland¿Russia¿Non-Arctic States¿International Organizations and Fora¿The European Union¿The Arctic Council¿The Arctic Five¿The Barents Euro Arctic Region (BEAR)¿Other Regional Fora¿Global Fora¿Non-Governmental Organizations¿Corporate Interests¿Other Stakeholders¿ConclusionsChapter Four: Securities in the Arctic¿Security or Securities¿Securities are Interwoven¿Making Humans Secure¿Logics of Security¿Current Strategies to Understand and Manage Securities¿National Security¿How Secure is National Security in the Arctic?¿Power and Hegemonic Transitions: the Rise of China¿Geo-Strategy¿Security Dilemmas¿From Security Dilemmas to Arms Racing¿Hot Conflict in the Arctic? Two Unlikely Scenarios¿ConclusionsChapter Five: Arctic Economies and Resources¿Pillars of Arctic Economies¿The Subsistence Economy¿The Formal Economy¿The Transfer Economy¿Economic Sectors¿The Three "D's¿Decoupling¿Dependency¿Diversification¿Arctic Resources¿Arctic Economies¿Competition between Different Sectors¿Social Impacts of Large-Scale Resource Extraction¿Interest Groups and Influences Inside and Outside the Arctic¿The Impacts of Climate Change on Arctic Resources¿ConclusionsChapter Six: The Political Economy of the Arctic¿Economic Globalization and Modern Capitalisms¿Three Flavors of Capitalism¿Economic Development National Strategies¿Finance and Banking¿Free Trade¿NAFTA¿Supply and Value Chains¿A Perfect Trade Storm Hits Canadian Inuit¿Recent Neoliberal Trade Negotiations¿CETA and CPTPP¿CETA Impacts¿Impact on Small and Medium Enterprises¿Social Impacts¿ConclusionsChapter Seven: Human Rights and the Rights of Indigenous Rights in the Arctic¿Human Rights or Indigenous Rights?¿How do Human Rights Impact Decision-Making?¿United Nations Instruments and Mechanisms¿The Council of Europe¿The Inter-American System of Human Rights Protection¿Responsibility for Human Rights and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples¿Human Rights and Indigenous Issues in the Arctic¿The Right to Self-Determination and Political Participation¿Land and Resource Management¿The Right to Culture¿Industrial Development and Rights to Participation¿Economic and Social Rights¿ConclusionsChapter Eight: Law of the Sea in the Arctic¿The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)¿Maritime Zones¿Baselines¿The Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone¿The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)¿The Continental Shelf¿The High Seas¿The Area Beyond National Jurisdiction¿Delimitation Between Adjacent or Opposite States¿Maritime Zones around the Svalbard Islands¿States' or Peoples' Rights over the Seas¿The Internationalization of the Arctic Ocean and Seas¿ConclusionsChapter Nine: Arctic Shipping and Navigation¿Freedom of Navigation¿Arctic Shipping Today¿The Northern Sea Route¿Arctic Marine Tourism¿Sea-ice and Other Challenges to Arctic Shipping¿Global Interest in Arctic Transit Shipping¿Constraints to Freedom of Navigation¿Arctic Controversies: Straight Baselines and the Question of 'International Straits'¿Are the straits in the NWP 'international'?¿Does the NSR contain international straits?¿Managing the disputes: agreeing to disagree¿Environmental and Human Security: Vessel-Source Pollution and Safety at Sea¿International and Domestic Efforts to Control the Impacts and Reduce the Risks¿The Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement and the Agreement on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response¿The Polar Code¿ConclusionsChapter Ten: Environmental Protection in the Arctic¿Principles of International Environmental Law¿The Environmental Impact Assessment¿The Precautionary Approach¿Conservation of Biological Diversity¿Sustainable Development¿Arctic Environmental Challenges¿Climate Change¿Long-Range Contaminants¿Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment¿Human Rights and the Environment¿Implementation and Enforcement of International Environmental Law¿ConclusionsChapter Eleven: The Future of Arctic Governance¿Material and Ideational Connections¿Arctic Puzzles for International Relations Theorists¿One Cannot Explain the Arctic without International Law¿The Arctic has Weak Institutions and Strong Cooperation¿The Arctic Illustrates Creative Sovereignty¿Human Security Rivals National Security in Importance¿Climate Change Matters in Governance Efforts¿Questions for Further Reflection