UDC

325.14

Authors

Shaparov Aleksandr Evgenyevich
Institute of Social, Humanitarian and Political Sciences, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 2 prosp. Lomonosova, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
е-mail: teledvina@rambler.ru
Chuvashova Natalya Ivanovna
Institute of Social, Humanitarian and Political Sciences, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov 2 prosp. Lomonosova, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation;
е-mail: chuv57@rambler.ru

Abstract

This paper describes the changes in the international relations in the Arctic region as a result of the Ukrainian crisis, which has changed all the key factors determining the direction of cooperation between Russia and the West. It is obvious that the transition to negative security is going to reformat the entire situation in the Arctic region. The article proves the inevitability of a shift in priorities of the West and Russia in the security sphere towards military risks and threats. We studied and described the reasons for modernization of the Russian military infrastructure in the Arctic. The paper predicts NATO’s actions in the Arctic as part of the globalist doctrine and identifies potential beneficiaries of the confrontation between Russia and the West. Further, we point out that the existing international institutions are failing to provide adequate security and sustainable development in the Arctic. We reason that the institutions of global and regional management should be given more powers to solve the problems of international stability, environmental challenges and security threats. To analyze the current situation in the Arctic, we turned to the concept of hegemonic stability, neo-institutional approach, and comparative analysis. These approaches allow the researcher to focus on persistent and changing trends in world politics and global political order, as well as on organizations, bodies, institutions, and key actors in international relations. The article also describes the concepts of negative and positive security, which extend heuristic research opportunities in the sphere of geopolitics. In addition, we analysed the geopolitical situation scenarios in the Arctic in the context of negative security.

Keywords

Arctic, security, NATO, international legal regime, nuclear planning

References

1. Shaparov A.E. NATO v Arktike: mezhdu negativnoy i pozitivnoy bezopasnost’yu [NATO in the Arctic Region: Between Negative and Positive Security]. Vestnik Severnogo (Arkticheskogo) federal’nogo universiteta. Ser.: Gumanitarnye i sotsial’nye nauki, 2014, no. 3, pp. 64–71.
   
2. Hoogensen Gjørv G. Security by Any Other Name: Negative Security, Positive Security, and a Multi-Actor Security Approach. Rev. Int. Stud., 2012, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 835–859.
   
3. Negrouk K.V. Opportunity in the Arctic: Defrosting Russia and America’s Chilly Relationship. Available at: http:// nationalinterest.org/feature/opportunity-the-arctic-defrosting-russia-americas-chilly-12017 (accessed 14 January 2015).
   
4. Kindleberger C.P. The World in Depression, 1929–1939. Berkeley, 1986, pp. 25–28.
   
5. Nye J.S. The Paradox of American Power: Why the World’s Only Superpower Can’t Go It Alone. New York, 2002. 222 p.
   
6. Ruggie J.G. International Regimes, Transactions, and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order. Int. Organ., 1982, vol. 36, no. 2, p. 404.
   
7. Coffey L. NATO in the Arctic: Challenges and Opportunities. Available at: http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/ 2012/06/nato-in-the-arctic-challenges-and-opportunities (accessed 7 January 2015).
   
8. Egorov I. Ushli na ostrova. V Arktike sozdaetsya novaya baza VMF Rossii [Gone to the Islands. A New Russian Naval Base in the Arctic]. Rossiyskaya gazeta, 8 September 2014.
   
9. Franchetti M. Putin’s Cold War in the Arctic. The Sunday Times, 26 October 2014.
   
10. Coffey L. Russian Military Activity in the Arctic: A Cause for Concern. Available at: http://www.heritage.org/ research/reports/2014/12/russian-military-activity-in-the-arctic-a-cause-for-concern (accessed 2 January 2015).
    
11. Konyshev V., Sergunin A. Is Russia a Revisionist Military Power in the Arctic? Defense & Security Analysis, 2014, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 323–335.
    
12. Rogozin D.O. Voyna i mir v terminakh i opredeleniyakh [War and Peace in Terms and Definitions]. Moscow, 2013. 640 p.
    
13. Heininen L., Sergunin A., Yarovoy G. Politika Rossii v Arktike: kak izbezhat’ novoy kholodnoy voyny [Russian Arctic Policy: How to Avoid Another Cold War]. Moscow, 2014. 118 p.