The Role of Western Technology Transfers as a Conflict Prevention Mechanism in the Arctic

In this paper, I will examine the factors and mechanisms that are leading to Russia’s remarkably cooperative behavior in the region. I will demonstrate that the region has remained extraordinarily cooperative even through the Crimea Crisis, and I argue that Russia has made an effort to maintain the Arctic as a ‘zone of cooperation’ where extraregional political dynamics have little effect. Then, I will attempt to show that this effort is not out of commitment to international institution building but out of its own national interests. Soviet-era sources of oil and gas in sub-Arctic Russia which have fueled the Russian economy for decades will soon begin to decline, so Russia is being forced to look North for a new source of essential energy resources. Russian firms do not possess the necessary technical ability to extract these resources, so they are reliant on Western energy firms to provide the necessary technology. Russia is cooperating in the Arctic despite conflicts with NATO in other theaters as it is a crucial Russian national interest to develop the High North.Bachelor of Art