The Circumpolar

Serafima Andreeva
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Explaining Arctic geopolitics, governance and security.Supported by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Arctic Institute

  1. Can we explore space without colonising the Earth?

    18 HR AGO

    Can we explore space without colonising the Earth?

    What does space sustainability actually mean, and why does it matter for the Arctic? In this episode of The Circumpolar, Serafima sits down with Tom Gabriel Royer, PhD candidate in space law at the University of Lapland, co-lead of Working Group 5 on COST Action FOGOS, and Visiting Researcher at the Arctic Centre, to talk through what's happening in the space sector right now and where the real tensions lie. Tom walks through the new EU Space Act proposal, the global push to attract space operators, and what scholars call the space sustainability paradox: we need space to monitor climate change on Earth, but to get there we build infrastructure that disrupts ecosystems on the ground. Launch-related pollution, he argues, is the missing piece in regulation. Even reusable rockets pollute. Reusability solves hardware waste, but it does not eliminate the environmental impact of launch operations. The conversation also turns to Tom's own work on immaterial extractivism around Arctic spaceports like Esrange, where the soundscape, the peacefulness and the emptiness of the land are extracted in the name of science, defence and economic growth. From the 1972 Liability Convention to indigenous perspectives on going to the Moon, Tom asks who actually benefits when we say space is the province of all humanity, and what it would take to do this thoughtfully.

    26 min
  2. Geopolitics of Outer Space: competition, militarisation, cooperation?

    28 APR

    Geopolitics of Outer Space: competition, militarisation, cooperation?

    Is space governed well enough, and can we still prevent it from becoming a field of conflict or competition? Serafima sits down with Michael Byers, Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, co-director of the Outer Space Institute and author of Who Owns Outer Space. Space is more governed than people think, Michael argues. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty was a remarkable document, and its negotiators were prescient. But space is developing very quickly. In just the last ten years we've gone from 2,000 operational satellites to 15,000, with plans for more than a million more. Add superpowers who are suspicious of each other, a heavy military reliance on satellites, and Donald Trump's so-called Golden Dome with over 1,000 space-based missile interceptors, and the security dilemma starts to look familiar. Drawing on his years working on Arctic governance, Michael walks through the parallels between two areas beyond national jurisdiction where countries almost necessarily have to cooperate. They also get into the renewed race to the moon and why it might really be about Donald Trump's ego, Elon Musk's Mars ambitions and the Starlink user agreement that already declares Mars "a free planet beyond the reach of nation states," the bubble economy of space startups, and what it would actually mean for humanity to find ancient life on another world.

    34 min
  3. France in the Arctic

    21 APR

    France in the Arctic

    France is not an Arctic state, but it has been present in the region longer than most. Dr. Florian Vidal, senior researcher at UiT's Center for Geopolitics, Peace and Security, joins us to map the shape of that presence and the direction it is now taking. Much of France's standing in the Arctic rests on science. French polar research goes back to the 19th century, and the station at Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard, operated jointly with the Alfred Wegener Institute, continues to anchor that footprint. Around it runs a tradition of climate diplomacy that successive governments have used to claim a leadership role on the environmental future of the region. The defence picture is newer, and moving faster. French naval deployments in Arctic waters are increasing, bilateral ties with Denmark, Finland and Norway are being reinforced, and NATO has emerged as one of the key structures through which France's contribution is organised. Vidal works through what it means that France holds the only nuclear deterrent inside the European Union, and how this has begun to signal that this protection could extend to European partners willing to engage. Greenland threads through the conversation. As transatlantic relations have wobbled, France has been unusually visible there: the first EU member state to open a consulate general, a small military unit sent to take part in Danish-led exercises, and a strategic agreement between the French National Geological Survey and the Greenlandic Department of Geology on critical minerals. Looking further out, Vidal weighs concerns over Russian force posture on the Kola Peninsula and possible spillover from the Baltic against longer-term issues like the Greenland ice sheet and its consequences for the AMOC. He closes with a frank point: if France wants a reliable position in the polar regions, it has to commit to invest.

    22 min
  4. Arctic Shipping and the Northern Sea Route

    14 APR

    Arctic Shipping and the Northern Sea Route

    Research professor Arild Moe from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute joins us to discuss Russia's Arctic ambitions and the Northern Sea Route. How realistic are Russia's development plans? And what role is China really playing? The Northern Sea Route is many things for Russia: the shortest distance between its eastern and western borders, a way to access the coast of Siberia and its vast natural resources, and a potential shortcut between the Atlantic and the Pacific. For the Kremlin, it has been high on the political agenda for decades and is considered a cornerstone of Russia's economic future. But the finances tell a more complicated story. The development model was built on a combination of federal budget revenues and contributions from the Arctic's hydrocarbon producers, whose projects were entirely dependent on the route. The war in Ukraine has put serious pressure on both sides of that equation. Arctic LNG projects have been delayed, sanctions have complicated investment, and the cargo base for the route is not looking as good as it did just a few years ago. Arild also addresses some of the misconceptions around Arctic shipping. Reports of record transit numbers require closer reading. Much of the recent increase reflects trade between Asia and Russian ports, or sanctioned Russian oil taking a longer route to Chinese markets. There has not been a surge in real international transits between the Pacific and the Atlantic. And then there is China. Russia has grown more willing to bring China in, particularly since the war shifted the balance of power between them. But Chinese investors are looking carefully at the commercial aspects, and being interested in the long term is not the same as being ready to invest at this stage.

    18 min
  5. What can an artist do in the face of Arctic climate change?

    7 APR

    What can an artist do in the face of Arctic climate change?

    What can an artist actually do in the face of climate change? Ruth Maclennan is an artist, filmmaker, and researcher affiliated with the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. She has spen many years trying to answer that question through her own practice, from the Russian taiga to the glaciers of Svalbard. In this episode, recorded during the fifth Arctic Art Forum symposium in Norway, Ruth talks about making work in places where climate change is most acutely felt and least visible from the outside. She discusses her collaborative film A Forest Tale, shot in the Russian Arctic just weeks before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and her more recent film All the Tears in the Sea, made during a residency in Svalbard. The film weaves together encounters with glaciologists, conservationists, reindeer, mining towns, and the strange hum of wind through Longyearbyen's lampposts. The conversation moves between the personal and the geopolitical: how art can hold complexity without simplifying it, why Arctic decision-makers need to listen to the people and species who actually live there, and how showing agency rather than helplessness might be the most important thing a film can do. As Ruth puts it: geopolitics is not a game of chess, it's a symphony. Find more of Ruth's work at ruthmaclennan.com and on Instagram @maclennanruth.

    27 min
  6. Art and the Arctic: Who gets to tell the stories of the north?

    31 MAR

    Art and the Arctic: Who gets to tell the stories of the north?

    In this episode, Serafima speaks with Ekaterina Sharova, art historian, curator, and doctoral researcher at the University of Lapland. As the co-founder of the Arctic Art Forum, she has spent a decade building platforms for artists and cultural workers across the circumpolar North. We discuss the origins of the forum, which started in 2016 with a focus on "embodied knowledge" and rediscovering forgotten local histories. Ekaterina shares how growing up in Arkhangelsk and later studying in Oslo shaped her interest in whose stories get told in art history, and whose get left out. The conversation moves through topics like the historical Pomor trade between northern Norway and Russia, the little-known connection between Arkhangelsk and Alaska through New Arkhangelsk (now Sitka), and the legacy of three decades of Barents cooperation since the 1993 Kirkenes Declaration. We also talk about this year's forum theme, "climate microchanges," and why focusing on small villages and individual stories can reveal the scope of what the Arctic is facing. Research shows the region is warming nearly four times faster than the global average, and Ekaterina explains how artists are responding to this reality through work that raises awareness while also creating space for contemplation and grief. The conversation touches on the challenges of people-to-people collaboration in the current geopolitical climate, the role of ecofeminism in Arctic art, and what it means to sustain platforms for critical voices when so much cultural infrastructure has disappeared. Ekaterina reflects on the importance of creating possibilities for young artists in regions where support systems barely exist.

    27 min
  7. EU in the Arctic: Soft Power or Overextension?

    17 FEB

    EU in the Arctic: Soft Power or Overextension?

    What is the Arctic for the European Union? In this episode of What’s New, host Serafima Andreeva speaks with Andreas Raspotnik, Director of the High North Center for Business and Governance and senior researcher affiliated with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and The Arctic Institute, about the evolution of EU Arctic policy and what Brussels can realistically achieve in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. The conversation traces the EU’s Arctic engagement from the 2008 Joint Communication to the 2021 strategy for a “peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic,” and the ongoing update expected later this year. Raspotnik explains how EU Arctic policy operates as an umbrella over fragmented competences, with fisheries at the supranational level, foreign and security policy largely in member state hands, and growing tensions between climate ambition and geopolitical urgency. Greenland and critical minerals sit at the heart of the debate. As Europe seeks strategic autonomy and reduced dependency on China and Russia, the Arctic is increasingly viewed as a source of rare earths and other resources central to the green transition. Yet the EU cannot compel companies to invest, nor can it act as a traditional hard power. The episode also examines the controversies that have shaped EU-Arctic relations, from the seal products ban to proposals for oil and gas moratoria, and asks whether Brussels risks overextension. With security now expected to feature more prominently in the upcoming policy revision, including references to Arctic security debates raised at Arctic Frontiers in Tromsø, the EU faces a structural question: how far can it move into hard security when defence remains a member state competence? Raspotnik argues for a practical shift. The European Arctic could be treated as a European neighbourhood alongside the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. That would require more institutional capacity in Brussels and a deeper understanding of Arctic societies and economies before regulatory decisions are made.

    24 min

  8. 11 FEB

    Iceland in the Arctic

    In this episode of What’s New, Serafima Andreeva speaks with Guðbjörg Ríkey Th. Hauksdóttir about Iceland’s evolving role in Arctic geopolitics. The conversation explores how Iceland has shifted from viewing the Arctic primarily as an economic opportunity to treating it as a core security concern shaped by great-power competition. The episode examines Iceland’s unique position as a founding member of NATO without a standing military, and its long-standing reliance on the United States for defence under the 1951 bilateral agreement. Ríkey explains how military infrastructure and allied presence have expanded in recent years, while public trust has been tested by growing geopolitical uncertainty and shifting US rhetoric. The discussion also covers Iceland’s limited but sensitive relationship with Russia, the domestic debate over sanctions following the 2014 and 2022 crises, and the strong public consensus in support of Ukraine. A central focus is Iceland’s relationship with China, including cooperation on geothermal energy, Arctic research, and the controversial Aurora Borealis Research Station in northeast Iceland. The episode unpacks concerns around dual-use research, intelligence risks, and the challenges Iceland faces in assessing such threats with limited domestic expertise. Finally, the episode reflects on Iceland’s late embrace of an Arctic identity following the 2006 closure of the US base and the 2008 financial crisis. Ríkey argues that strengthening national expertise on Arctic security and resilience is now essential as political, economic, and security domains in the Arctic become increasingly intertwined.

    15 min
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About

Explaining Arctic geopolitics, governance and security.Supported by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Arctic Institute

Information

  • Creator
    Serafima Andreeva
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Circumpolar
  • Show Website
    The Circumpolar

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