The Polar Bear in the Room: The Role of Institutions in the Changing Arctic
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This thesis focuses on the role of international institutions in the Arctic. Specifically, it examines the two main governance structures in the Arctic—the Arctic Council and the United Nations Law of the Seas Treaty (UNCLOS)—in light of the changing Arctic environment. It evaluates to what extent these two governance structures have been effective at keeping the peace in the Arctic, and whether this cooperation is likely to continue in the future. While the Arctic—and its institutions—are frequently cited as a model for geopolitical cooperation, this thesis finds that predictions that this cooperation will continue are overly optimistic. This conclusion is based on two overall findings. The first is that the Arctic Council, the preeminent forum for cooperation in the Arctic, is unlikely to adapt to upcoming issues, as it is limited by its primarily environmental mandate. The second argument concerns the role of UNCLOS, and finds that, despite its effectiveness in bringing states to the negotiation table for some territorial disputes, it has generally been unable to mandate long-term solutions. By showing the limitations of the Arctic Council and UNCLOS in regards to their ability to provide cooperative governance, this thesis questions the existing literature about the Arctic and raises the question of what other structures—perhaps economic or security related—are needed to ensure that the Arctic remains a peaceful sphere of cooperation in the future. As such, it is valuable for policymakers or academics that have to deal with the Arctic in particular, and for international cooperation literature more generally.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 23, 2014 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Stuart, Elle |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Schultz, Kenneth |
| Primary advisor | Slayton, David |
Subjects
| Subject | Arctic |
|---|---|
| Subject | institutions |
| Subject | international law |
| Subject | cooperation |
| Subject | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea |
| Subject | Arctic Council |
| Subject | Center for International Security and Cooperation |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Stuart, Elle. (2014). The Polar Bear in the Room: The Role of Institutions in the Changing Arctic. Stanford University, California. http://purl.stanford.edu/jr611wq3617
Collection
Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses
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- Contact
- elle.m.stuart@gmail.com
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