Abstract
The Swedish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council 2011–2013 still holds many of the keys in understanding Sweden’s overall stance in Arctic affairs. When Sweden took the chair in early 2011, many Observers were skeptical of its likely impact on the region not only because the organization and its role in circumpolar economic and social development were contested at the time. There were also misgivings about Sweden’s role as a “reluctant” Arctic nation. Sweden, nevertheless, contributed during its term as Chair of the Arctic Council to significant organizational revitalization and moving its Arctic agenda on soft security concerns forward. The chapter revisits the leadership goals, strategies, roles and achievements of the Swedish Chairmanship. These are then compared and contrasted with subsequent Swedish activity within the Council. The potential for a Swedish return to an active leadership role in the Arctic is then considered against the background of a changing international setting and increased policy relevance of the Arctic to Sweden.
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Notes
- 1.
To form this narrative section, conversations were held with two senior Swedish officials charged with Arctic affairs. They were asked to talk about their own view of Swedish activism in the Arctic Council, knowing that the author was asking for help constructing this book chapter. The conversations were not research interviews, however, and it was understood that nobody would be quoted verbatim. The narratives in this chapter including any mistakes or misinterpretations, therefore, are attributable to the author only. Many thanks for their enthusiasm and openness of mind are due to Björn Lyrvall and Ellinor Blomberg. The narrative rests on the reflections of the author and represents an effort to begin to fill what seems to be a knowledge gap with regard to why and how Sweden acts in a certain way in the Arctic context.
- 2.
At a recent security conference jointly sponsored by SIPRI and the Swedish Foreign Ministry the topic of the future of the Arctic Council was tacked on to the broader heading of “Managing Complexity: Addressing Societal Security Challenges in the Baltic Sea Region” Stockholm June 11–12, 2018.
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Eklund, N. (2019). The Swedish Chairmanship: Foresight and Hindsight in Arctic Activism. In: Nord, D. (eds) Leadership for the North. Springer Polar Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03107-7_5
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