The Polar North is known to be home to large gas and oil reserves and its position holds significant trading and military advantages, yet the maritime boundaries of the region remain ill-defined. In the twenty-first century the Arctic is undergoing profound change. As the sea ice melts, a result of accelerating climate change, global governance has become vital. In this first of three volumes, the latest research and analysis from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the world's leading Arctic research body, is brought together. Arctic Governance: Law and Politics investigates the legal and political order of the Polar North, focusing on governance structures and the Law of the Sea. Are the current mechanisms at work effective? Are the Arctic states' interests really clashing, or is the atmosphere of a more cooperative nature? Skilfully delineating policy in the region and analysing the consequences of treaty agreements, Arctic Governance's uncovering of a rather orderly 'Arctic race' will become an indispensable contribution to contemporary International Relations concerning the Polar North.

Introduction Part I: Energy1 Arctic Offshore Petroleum: Resources and Political Fundamentals Dag Harald Claes and Arild Moe2 Arctic Hydrocarbon Developments: State Interests and Policies Dag Harald Claes, Arild Moe and Svein Vigeland Rottem3 Arctic Petroleum: Local Perceptions Ilan Kelman, Julia P. Loe, Elana Wilson Rowe, Emma Wilson, Nina Poussenkova, Elena Nikitina and Daniel Buikema FjærtoftPart II: Marine Living Resources4 Stock Shifts, Value-Chains, and Institutional Resilience: Fisher Compliance in the Barents Sea Olav Schram Stokke5 Making Russia Comply: Bargaining Precautionary Fisheries Management in the Barents Sea Geir Hønneland6 MSC Certification of Russian Arctic Fisheries Geir Hønneland and Lars H. Gulbrandsen7 The Challenging Barents Sea Snow Crab Harald Sakarias Brøvig HansenPart III: Shipping8 Arctic Shipping: Images and Realities Error! Bookmark not defined.Arild Moe9 International Transits on the Northern Sea Route: Policy Developments and the Business Response Arild Moe10 Organization and Management Challenges of Russia's Icebreaker Fleet Arild Moe and Lawson W. Brigham11 Governing Arctic Shipping: Institutional Niches and Regional Regimes Olav Schram StokkeEpilogue Bibliography