Course Syllabus
Arctic Geopolitics |
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| Semester & Location: |
Spring 2020 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Political science, International Relations, Environmental studies |
| Faculty Members: |
Alexander Hviid - alexander.hviid@dis.dk |
| Program Director: |
Neringa Vendelbo, nb@dis.dk |
| Program Assistant: |
Julia Magnuson, jma@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Mondays & Thursdays, 13.15. - 14.35, N7 - B13 |
Course description
The end of the Cold War and global climate change have made a profound impact on the Arctic by opening up new opportunities to Arctic states and societies for cooperation in economic, social and human development areas. At the same time, global warming, i.e. the rapidly melting ice cap, has also posed formidable challenges to both Arctic and global actors. It has not only made untapped Arctic natural resources (i.e. gas, oil and rare minerals, and new trans-Arctic marine routes) more accessible for commercial use, but also raised risks of environmental degradation and political conflicts. The latter could arise from still unresolved territorial claims by the Arctic states, heightened aspirations of indigenous societies for political autonomy, and fledgling regional governance structures. This course offers an introduction to a broad array of political, economic, social and military security issues that make the present day Arctic a focus of global interest.
Instructor
Alexander Hviid, M.Sc. (International Security & Law, University of Southern Denmark, 2016) M.A. (Social Science, University of Copenhagen, 2010). Research interests include Arctic security and Danish-Greenlandic relations as well as public international law, specifically international criminal law and international humanitarian law. Work experience with the Institute for Strategy at the Royal Danish Defence College. With DIS since 2016.
Learning objectives of the course
Through this course, students will acquire a thorough, cross-disciplinary understanding of key issues, challenges and developments in Arctic regional security and governance. Upon completion of the course, the students should be able to draw on both historical knowledge, international relations theory and public international law to critically analyze and evaluate current events and future perspectives in the Arctic.
Readings
The readings for the course will be posted on DIS Canvas (i.e. intranet) and comprise book chapters, academic articles, and policy reports. There is no textbook to pick up during the arrivals workshop.
Full list:
Tamnes, Rolf, and Kristine Offerdal. 2014. “Introduction.” In Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic: Regional Dynamics in a Global World, Rolf Tamnes and Kristine Offerdal, eds. London: Routledge, 1-11.
Nixon, Simon: The Arctic: Source of Conflict or Cooperation? Dow Jones News, New York May 2017.
Walt, Stephen M. (1998): International Relations: One world, many theories. Foreign Policy, Spring 1998; 110. (Available on Canvas).
Diamond, Jared (1997): Guns, Germs & Steel – the Fates of Human Societies. London: Vintage.: chapter 4.
AMAP (2017): Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic. Summary for policy-makers. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo Norway.
Kenneth J. Bird et al. (2008): Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal: Estimates of Undiscovered Oil and Gas North of the Arctic Circle. US Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey. Available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3049/fs2008-3049.pdf
Keil, Kathrin (2015): Economic Potential in Jokela, Juha (2015): “Arctic Security Matters”, European Union Institute for Strategic Studies, report no. 24: p. 21-26 (Available on Canvas)
Koivurova, Timo (2017): “Arctic Resources: Exploitation of natural resources in the Arctic from the perspective of international law”. In International Law and Natural Resources. Morgera & Kulovesi (eds.) Edward Elgar Publishing.
Keil, Kathrin (2015): Economic Potential in Jokela, Juha (2015): “Arctic Security Matters”, European Union Institute for Strategic Studies, report no. 24: p. 26-31.
Margareth Blunden (2016): Geopolitics and the Northern Sea Route. International Affairs 88: 1.
Hill, LaNore & Veronneau (2015): Northern Sea Route: an overview of transportation risks, safety and security. Journal of Transport and Security 8: 69-78
Hoel, Alf Håkon. 2014. “The Legal-political regime in the Arctic.” In Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic: Regional Dynamics in the Global World, Rolf Tamnes and Kristine Offerdal (eds). London and New York: Routledge, 49-72. (Available on Canvas).
English, John (2016): “Emergence of an Arctic Council.” In D.A. Berry et al. (eds.), Governing the North American Arctic – Sovereignty, Security & Institutions. Palgrave Macmillan: Oxford.
Chater, Andrew (2016): Explaining Non-Arctic States in the Arctic Council. Strategic Analysis, 40:3.
David, Mihaela (2016): “Strong Foothold or on Thin Ice? US Strategies for Development, Environmental Stewardship, and Security in the Arctic.” In D.A. Berry et al. (eds.), Governing the North American Arctic – Sovereignty, Security & Institutions. Palgrave Macmillan: Oxford.
Kessel, Alan (2016): “Canadian Arctic Sovereignty: Myths and Realities.” In D.A. Berry et al. (eds.), Governing the North American Arctic – Sovereignty, Security & Institutions. Palgrave Macmillan: Oxford.
Kristensen & Sakstrup (2016): Russian Policy in the Arctic after the Ukraine Crisis. Center for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen.
Sergunin & Konyshev (2017): Russian Military Strategies in the Arctic: change or continuity. European Security, 26:2.
Swaine, Jon (2008): US left nuclear weapon under ice in Greenland. The Telegraph, 11. Nov. 2008, available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/3439318/US-left-nuclear-weapon-under-ice-in-Greenland.html
Archer, Clive (2003): Greenland, US Bases and Missile Defence. Cooperation & Conflict, Journal of the Nordic International Studies Association, vol. 38 (2).
Kristensen, Kristian (2004): Greenland, Denmark and the Debate on Missile Defence. Danish Institute for International Studies, working paper no. 14.
Rahbek-Clemmensen & Henriksen (2017): The ‘Greenland Card’ – the importance of the Arctic for Danish influence in the US. Center for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen.
Hviid, Alexander (2015): ‘Til Kingdom Come? – An analysis of Greenland as the Danish link to the Arctic. Royal Danish Defence College: Publishing House.
Wang & Degeorges (2014): Greenland and the New Arctic – political and security implications of a state-building project. Royal Danish Defence College: Publishing House.
Pram Gad, Ulrik (2014): Greenland: a post-Danish sovereign state in the making. Cooperation & Conflict, vol. 49 (1).
Lasserre & Huang (2017): China’s Strategy in the Arctic: threatening or opportunistic? Polar Record 53 (268). Cambridge University Press.
Lanteigne, Marc (2017): ‘Have you entered the storehouses of the snow?’ China as a norm entrepreneur in the Arctic. Polar Record 53 (269).
Lajeunesse & Lackenbauer (2016): “Chinese Mining Interests in the Arctic.” In D.A. Berry et al. (eds.), Governing the North American Arctic – Sovereignty, Security & Institutions. Palgrave Macmillan: Oxford.
Stepien & Koivurova (2015): “The Making of a Coherent Arctic Policy for the European Union: Anxieties, Contradictions and Possible Future Pathways.” In Stepien, Koivurova & Kankaanpää (eds.), The Changing Arctic and the European Union. Brill; Nijhoof Law special series.
Approach to teaching
Class sessions will include short lectures by the course instructor, academic discussions, group work, guest lectures, field studies, creative assignments and simulation games. As part of the course, the students must participate in a problem-oriented, interdisciplinary and participant-directed research project in research teams as sketched out below.
Expectations of the students
It is expected that all students actively participate in class: do the reading for each class; come with notes and questions for the instructor and other students; actively and responsibly participate in their project group.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
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