Strategies Towards the European Arctic

978-82-7613-566-4-print version 978-82-7613-567-1-online version Project ISSN 1504-9744 This report examines the discourses on engagement in the European Arctic. Since 2006, both Norway and the EU have launched strategies directed toward engagement in the North. By means of discourse analysis, the report will investigate how the two actors have portrayed and discussed the European Arctic. Taking a social constructivist approach, it is assumed that regions are what we make them to be, and that discourse analysis can indicate the area of action for the region. Special attention will be paid to climate change, environmental issues and energy, as these issues play a prominent role in the Arctic. The region shows evident signs of climate change – but it also contains perhaps 25 % of the world’s untapped energy resources. This creates tensio