Arctic Frontlines: Energy, Strategy, And Security In A Melting Geopolitical Core

Over the past decade, the Arctic has emerged as a strategic priority for Russia, second only to relations with post-Soviet countries, including Ukraine. Russia’s policy agenda in the Arctic is shaped by insecurities over its economic and military position in the region. This agenda forms a “policy iceberg”. The Kremlin’s massive economic investment is the visible tip; its attempts to create a northern sea trade route buoy at the waterline with both visible economic and murkier military aims; while its militarisation in the Arctic is submerged from view—and the most threatening to Western interests.   The Arctic has shifted from…