Polar Geopolitics - Arctic and Antarctic analysis

Eric Paglia
Polar Geopolitics - Arctic and Antarctic analysis

A podcast on the Arctic and Antarctica

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Future of the Arctic Council: Science diplomacy, Arctic exceptionalism and innovative governance in a time of geopolitical turbulence

    Two Arctic Council insiders discuss the unique qualities and key role the Council continues to play even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cast it into crisis three years ago. Jennifer Spence, Director of the Arctic Initiative at Harvard’s Belfer Center, and Rolf Rødven, Executive Secretary of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, sat down with Polar Geopolitics at the Arctic Frontiers conference for a live podcast recording on the future of the Arctic Council. In the session organized by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Polar Geopolitics and Arctic Frontiers, Rødven and Spence argued that science diplomacy generated through Arctic Council Working Groups, as well as the participation of indigenous peoples’ groups in the Council’s work, has helped maintain a degree of exceptionalism in Arctic governance despite the fraught geopolitical situation. This is the first of three podcast episodes on the future of the Arctic Council recorded live at Arctic Frontiers in Tromsø, Norway on January 27, 2025. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    49 min
  2. FEB 20

    Global gaze on Greenland: Analyzing upcoming elections, security situation and relations with the United States, Denmark, China and the E.U.

    In the midst of intense international interest in Greenland, general elections have been called for March 11th, with potential geopolitical implications across a range of issues, including independence from the Kingdom of Denmark. To explain the stakes and dynamics of the upcoming election, and analyze regional security in the context of U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland, joining the podcast is Dr. Rasmus Leander Nielsen, head of the Centre for Foreign & Security Policy at the University of Greenland in Nuuk. He also analyzes relations between Copenhagen and Nuuk, as well as Greenland’s geopolitical position and natural resources, which has attracted great interest not only from the United States but also from China and the European Union. In addition, Dr. Leander Nielsen discusses the Kingdom of Denmark’s upcoming chairship of the Arctic Council, where Greenland will play a leading role. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    1h 11m
  3. 12/30/2024

    Arctic security, seabed warfare, Russia-China relations and U.S. engagement under Trump: Mathieu Boulègue on the events, issues and upheavals shaping geopolitics for 2025

    Arctic security, critical undersea infrastructure and Russian strategic calculations are in focus as Mathieu Boulègue joins the podcast to analyze the wider geopolitical consequences of recent events and upheavals in Ukraine, Syria, the Baltic Sea and beyond. Consulting Fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, Boulègue discusses the effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine on its military posture in the Arctic, the introduction of North Korean troops into the war, Russia-China relations and possible collaboration on hybrid activities such as seabed cable sabotage, and how Donald Trump could impact the United States’ increasingly comprehensive Arctic engagement. Mathieu Boulègue report for Wilson Center "Arctic Seabed Warfare against Data Cables":  https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/arctic-seabed-warfare-against-data-cables-risks-and-impact-us-critical-undersea    Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    1h 8m
  4. 11/18/2024

    Cracks in Consensus: Krill, marine conservation and the consequences of CCMALR 43 failures for Antarctic governance and geopolitics

    Many observers considered the 43rd annual CCAMLR meeting in Hobart a major disappointment due to the failure to renew important protections on krill fisheries and the continued lack of progress on marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Some are even concerned that the breakdown in consensus, centered on China and Russia refusing to extend existing or institute new protection measures, foreshadows greater geopolitical problems infecting Antarctic governance. To analyze the complexities of CCAMLR and what the meeting might portend for the future of the Antarctic Treaty System, Dr. Tony Press from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania joins the podcast, sharing insights from decades of direct involvement with the science and geopolitics of Antarctica as Australia’s former CCAMLR commissioner and chairman (2002-2006) of the Antarctic Treaty’s Committee for Environmental Protection. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    43 min
  5. 10/04/2024

    Carrots, sticks and the near-Arctic state narrative: China’s influence strategies in the Arctic

    How does China exert influence in the Arctic, and has it already peaked? A new in-depth report published by the Wilson Center analyzes Chinese information and influence operations in each of the eight Arctic Council member states. The report’s co-author Adam Lajeunesse, associate professor at St. Francis Xavier University, joins the podcast to explain China’s multifaceted influence strategy in the Arctic and how it has gone about “selling” itself as a “near-Arctic state”—and whether Western observers have been too eager to buy in to this narrative and the ostensible threat China poses to the Arctic order. Dr. Lajeunesse also discusses the China-Russia relationship, China’s wolf warrior diplomacy, and how China has in recent years attempted to recalibrate its messaging and activities in the Arctic.   Selling the “Near Arctic State”: China’s Information and Influence Operations in the Arctic (Wilson Center 2024) by Adam Lajeunesse and P. Whitney Lackenbauer: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/selling-near-arctic-state   Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    41 min
  6. 09/27/2024

    Analyzing ATCM 46: Current issues and dynamics in the governance and geopolitics of Antarctica

    From geopolitical posturing surrounding the status of Belarus and Canada inside the Antarctic Treaty, to diverging views on science, environmental protection and the regulation of tourism, the 46thAntarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kochi, India provided, in an era of great power competition and new constellations within the international system, a snapshot on the current state of affairs in the governance of Antarctica. Dr. Kati Lindström, a researcher at KTH in Stockholm and Estonia’s point of contact to the Antarctic Treaty who participated in ATCM 46 in India this past May, joins the podcast to analyze the outcomes and geopolitical implications of the latest annual meeting of the consultative parties to the Antarctic Treaty. An historian by training, Dr. Lindström also explains the geopolitical significance of cultural heritage remains in Antarctica for certain states, particularly those with historical claims in the continent. Polar Geopolitics on Twitter / X: @polargeopol Polar Geopolitics YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolarGeopolitics    Polar Geopolitics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/polargeopolitics Polar Geopolitics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/polargeopolitics/ Polar Geopolitics website: http://www.polargeopolitics.com Polar Geopolitics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/polargeopolitics   Polar Geopolitics on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KXUVZKGALMFXU

    42 min

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A podcast on the Arctic and Antarctica

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