Bridging the Arctic: Through Security and Internationalism

The Arctic has been a field for conflict since before the Cold War, and since has been consistently becoming more important projecting itself into the national security policies of many states. With the potential success of the Arctic, states are claiming territory governed by international maritime law, claiming ownership over resources, and are working to ensure their individual security interests. Portraying the struggle of the Arctic through hard and soft power, using the works of Robert Murray and Robert Keohane, these theories provide two dimensions in which to work towards finding an Arctic solution. Part of this solution includes the use of precedent set in the Antarctic and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These aspects lead the way to the Bickel Recommendation displaying through comparative governance structure models, the struggles that come in finding an Arctic solution and the missing regulations, governance, and policies necessary to find an Arctic solution. With research largely focused on shipping and international and maritime law, this thesis uses this research to examine what governance and regulations are missing in the Arctic, and displaying the potential gains that states can earn from being in the Arctic. This thesis has used theory, journals, state policies, law, and comparative models, to work towards finding a solution for the Arctic, while explaining the importance of the Arctic not only to the Arctic states but also to the international community. Part of this research was done as part of an internship at the International Maritime Organizations Headquarters in London. This provided the unique opportunity to research at an organization that is currently working in the Arctic region. This thesis allows the opportunity for necessary questions to be asked and concerns raised in order to properly find a solution in the Arctic