The myths of Svalbard geopolitics
An Arctic case study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21520680 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andreas Østhagen (0000-0003-0180-2032, Fridtjof Nansen Institute, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 167 |
| Pages | 106183 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Marine Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0308-597X • E-ISSN: 1872-9460 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.marpol.2024.106183 |
| OpenAlex | W4399697138 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 42 |
The Arctic has become a victim of popularised geopolitical analyses. Common conceptions of ‘geopolitical rivalry’ being caused or even accelerated by sea ice melting are too simplistic. They under-estimate the complexity of the political and legal dynamics at play and over-estimate the explanatory power of geophysical change. Instead, we must examine the specific cases of geopolitics in the North. One such location is the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Misconceptions and myths also concerning this archipelago abound in popular media and some academic scholarship – regarding everything from sovereignty disputes to its legal and military status. Such misconceptions are intertwined with the actual geopolitical issues that concern Svalbard or stem from different interpretations of the Svalbard Treaty from 1920. These include the (1) explicit challenges to Norwegian policies on land; the (2) disagreement over the geographic extension of the Svalbard Treaty to the archipelago’s maritime zones; and (3) the potential military use of Svalbard in a larger conflict with Russia. This article examines the geopolitical aspects of this Norwegian Arctic archipelago, in order to provide greater accuracy to the growing popular and academic discussion about Svalbard and the wider Arctic
Arctic · Geography · Geopolitics · Mythology · Political science · Politics · The arctic · Arctic and Russian Policy Studies · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Law · Polar Research and Ecology · Geology · Oceanography
China and one hundred years of the svalbard treaty
Russia in maritime areas off Spitsbergen (Svalbard)
The law of the sea and current practices of marine scientific research in the Arctic
Hvor normalt kan Svalbard bli? Et lite stykke Russland i møte med norsk forvaltning
Geopolitics
Coast Guards and Ocean Politics in the Arctic
China as a Polar Great Power
Arctic state, Arctic nation? Arctic national identity among the post-Cold War generation in Norway
Space and timing
The Svalbard Treaty and Norwegian Sovereignty
Norway and Russia
Managing Conflict at Sea
High North, Low Politics—Maritime Cooperation with Russia in the Arctic
Minding the Archipelago
The Politics of Presence
Endringer i internasjonal Svalbard-politikk
Norges vern av suverene rettigheter rundt Svalbard
When Security Speech Acts Misfire
The trouble with local community in Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Demilitarisation and neutralisation of Svalbard
What about the Arctic? The European Union’s Geopolitical Quest for Northern Space
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |