The Foreign Service Journal, May 2021

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2021 31 SD: What’s the home bureau for the coordinator? Who do you work with inside State and among other U.S. government, non- governmental and international entities? JDH: We are an S-slash office [S/AR], not resident in any bureau, which I think makes sense because we need to work across all interested bureaus and offices, each of which views the Arctic through its own particular lens. The Arctic is a place of cross-cutting interests—security, safety, science, economic development, to name a few—and the different pieces need to fit together. We’re a small office, only four of us, so you might say we’re sparsely populated, like the Arctic. We work across the federal government and do a lot of outreach with organizations such as the Wilson Center and the Center for Strategic and Inter- national Studies, the Alaska congressional delegation, Alaska Native communities, and the large orbit of scientists and other professionals dedicated to Arctic work. SD: Compared to some other regions, the Arctic has an unusu- ally large interagency footprint. And now the military service branches are releasing separate Arctic strategies. To what extent is Arctic policy fragmented among the various agencies and services? Is there a role for State to play in bridging priorities and overcoming the fragmentation? JDH: Yes, just since last July, we’ve seen new Arctic strate- gies from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army and Department of Homeland Security. The common denominator among them is increased U.S. attention and presence. Clearly, there’s a growing sense of the Arctic as a distinct realm of U.S. foreign and security policy, and different parts of the U.S. government are working to keep pace with developments there. As our new administration sets out its vision for the region, State can undertake the essen- tial diplomacy, and we may see updates by the service branches to align with the new administration’s priorities. SD: Does your office coordinate with the new U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry? If so, how? JDH: Yes, we are coordinating closely with his team. We must leverage our diplomacy in the Arctic region, including through the Arctic Council, to advance our administration’s broader climate change goals. SD: You mention the Arctic Council. With so much new interest and activity in the region, is the Arctic Council still the best venue for international Arctic cooperation? JDH: Yes, absolutely. We see the Arctic Council as the region’s premier multilateral forum. Through the years, we’ve negotiated significant agreements on pollution control and response, on search and rescue, and on scientific cooperation. A lot of very An eagle flying near Nuuk, Greenland, in October 2020. HILARYLEBAIL