The Arctic as a Strategic Region: The Securitization of Chinese Activities in American Discourse

Bachelor's thesis The Arctic as a Strategic Region: The Securitization of Chinese Activities in American Discourse responds to the growing importance of the Arctic in the geopolitical events of the world. With climate change, the entire polar region is opening up and offering new opportunities for power competition of US and China. Utilizing the theoretical framework of securitization introduced in the 1990s by researchers from the so-called Copenhagen School, this paper seeks to analyze the relationship between the United States and China within the Arctic region today. To conduct this research, this thesis primarily uses strategic documents from the Obama and Trump administrations. The thesis describes the rhetorical approaches of both administrations, both on a global scale as well as a more Arctic-focused one, in an effort to analyze and describe the differences between the two constructed narratives. Furthermore, the thesis explores the possibility of successful securitization at both levels of analysis. In the introduction, the reader is introduced to the geographical and legal definition of the Arctic as well as the new theoretical concept of security according to the Copenhagen School