Arctic Articles

We recently discussed the Norwegian government’s (Norway) decision to halt the purchase and sale of Søre Fagerfjord, a 60-square-kilometre private tract of land in the pristine wilderness of the Svalbard Islands, by Chinese investors due to strategic national security concerns. We also examined how an ‘old’ treaty like the Svalbard Treaty is struggling to keep pace with modern geopolitical realities. The interests at stake today are indeed significantly different from those that existed when it was originally drafted, and the legal framework provided by this document of fundamental importance for international relations in this sensitive Arctic region is in danger of becoming obsolete...

The Svalbard Islands, a remote Arctic archipelago under Norway’s sovereignty since the Svalbard Treaty of 1920, have long been known for their unique international status. Citizens from treaty signatory countries, including Italy, Russia, and China, among others, are allowed to settle and conduct economic activities in this exceptional territory, provided they comply with Norwegian law. This arrangement has created a notable degree of economic freedom, allowing anyone to buy, sell and trade property or land in Svalbard. Nevertheless, a recent decision by the Norwegian government regarding Svalbard...

The famous American writer was also interested in economic issues and the development of the North. Jack London proposed an idea that contradicted popular beliefs of the time. In many practical cases his hypothesis has come true. Many of Jack London’s works feature the tales of the North, namely, the Yukon and Alaska. We can easily recall such famous novels as The Call of the Wild and White Fang which are set up in the North. But there is more to it - Jack London participated in the famous Klondike Gold Rush himself and, based on that experience, wrote an essay concerning the economic development of the region...

On July 15th, 2024, the Alliance will set sail from Tromsø, Norway, embarking on its eighth High North campaign in the Arctic Ocean. This NATO vessel, fully operated by the Italian Navy, serves as an oceanographic research ship. Its crew of 44 officers and sailors will be joined by a scientific team from the Hydrographic Institute, along with selected students and journalists. The ship will navigate the waters between the Svalbard archipelago and Greenland. This area is known for its extensive ice cover and particular environmental conditions. In this context, researchers aboard the Alliance will carry out a wide range of studies with the support of the crew...

Nowadays, the idea of Russia-India-China cooperation (RIC) is slightly inferior to the extended BRICS cooperation which seems dominating in Russian, Chinese, and in Indian discourse. When Evgeny Primakov expressed the idea of a triangle Moscow-New Delhi-Beijing in 1998, it was met with a backlash and even some mockery. The Russian press didn’t approve of the idea of RIC cooperation as it posed "too many challenges": unresolved border issues between India and China, their race for leadership in Asia, especially with the nuclear tests by India in 1998. The official response from China and India was quite sceptical as well...

THE QUEST FOR THE NORTHEAST PASSAGE For hundreds of years, sailors and explorers from all over Europe have been looking for the Northwest and Northeast passages, in order to find an alternative route to the Orient. The main drivers of these explorations were the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire, which broke the Pax Mongolica and made it necessary to cross several borders to reach China, and the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, a sworn enemy of most Western European nations. And even when this quest was made redundant by the discovery of other routes which were way more practicable at that time, since they avoided the ice caps, the quest for the two Passages did not stop...