The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

24 NOVEMBER 2015 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL States playing the leadership role that might be expected? Earlier this year, the United States began a term as chair of the Arctic Council, the inter-governmental forumwith primary responsibility for dealing with Arctic issues. Decisions are made by consensus in the council, whose members are the eight Arctic nations: the United States, Canada, Denmark (by way of Green- land), Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Founded in 1996, and with its headquarters in Tromsø, Nor- way, the council focuses on cooperative issues such as environ- ment and climate, biodiversity, oceans and Arctic peoples. Since its establishment, the body has accepted a number of observer nations: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, China, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and India. During the next two years, the focus of the U.S. chairmanship will be on three issues: improving economic and living condi- tions for Arctic communities; enhancing Arctic Ocean safety, security and stewardship; and addressing the effects of climate change. All are worthy issues, to be sure. But one might ask why the United States is not using its chairmanship to prepare the council for the challenges immediately ahead. Why is there no direct emphasis on security, territorial claims, resources and access—the old standards of geopolitics—in the U.S. agenda? Those are the areas where one might logically expect some diplo- matic tensions to arise in the coming years—and where, in some cases, they already have. During its short existence, the Arctic Council has been an important venue for multilateral negotiations, facilitating agree- ment among the Arctic nations to cooperate on a variety of issues, including marine oil pollution and regional search and rescue. But should it evolve to the point where members can address “harder” issues, and should it play a greater, more dynamic role in Arctic affairs? These are larger questions, which the United States might consider raising during the next two years. State of Play In the last decade, the council’s member states have increas- ingly turned to the Arctic as a vitally important part of their foreign (and domestic) policy. Non-Arctic nations are looking north, as well; China, in particular, is taking serious steps toward becoming a player to be reckoned with in the Arctic. Here are some details. A view of Iqaluit, the city on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic that hosted the Arctic Council Ministerial on April 24. In the background is the airport and runway. Iqaluit was built as a World War II airfield to refuel military aircraft en route to Britain. MIGUEL RODRIGUES