Abstract
Quality infrastructures are paramount to ensure prosperity and sustainable development of the Arctic region. Infrastructures are also critical to improve online connectivity for local Arctic communities and lessen the Arctic digital divide. Two persistent dynamics has guided and will continue to guide the development of connectivity infrastructure in the region. First, the construction of norms and standards on Arctic connectivity has started to take shape, using multilateral settings and forums. This process involves a wide range of stakeholders and highlight the role that the private sector could play in Arctic governance. Second, the necessity of building connectivity infrastructure requires substantial investments, with a limited number of potential customers. China is at the forefront, expressing strong interest at high government level to contribute in a digital Arctic Silk Road as part of their Road and Belt Initiative (BRI). The construction of an undersea cable through the Northern Sea Route is at the center of future connectivity development in the Arctic and economic development. In particular, the digital Arctic Silk Road raises geopolitical and security concerns as it could represent an instance in which China will control a physical connectivity network outside of its national territory. In term, it could represent another instance of West-China rivalry for the control of global infrastructures and the question of the surveillance of the internet.
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- 1.
Soft power was defined by Nye (2010: 6) as “the ability to achieve goals through attraction rather than coercion. It works by convincing others to follow or getting them to agree to norms and institutions that produce the desired behavior. Soft power can rest on the appeal of one's ideas or culture or the ability to set the agenda through standards and institutions that shape the preferences of others”.
- 2.
Nye (2010: 8) argues that “Cyber power behavior rests upon a set of resources that relate to the creation, control and communication of electronic and computer-based information—infrastructure, networks, soft-ware, human skills. This includes the Internet of networked computers”.
- 3.
This model put forward that governments, technicians, private sector, civil society must discuss and cooperate on how to regulate and shape internet.
- 4.
See the following link for more details: https://www.highspeedinternet.com/tools/speed-test#map.
- 5.
See the following link: https://telepost.gl/en/node/23440.
- 6.
- 7.
White paper on the Internet in China; 13th Five-Year Plan for National Informatization; Made in China 2025 and the Internet plus strategy.
- 8.
Technical equipment, sold by occidental companies, allow Chinese authorities to block unauthorized contents in China.
- 9.
In June 2019 Huawei was planning to sale its stake in the Joint venture Huawei Marine Systems to a Chinese company, Hengtong Optic-Electric, depicted as close to the Chinese authorities and specialized in fibre optic cables. See the following link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/huawei-selling-stake-in-undersea-cable-firm-as-u-s-pressure-mounts-11559562892.
- 10.
See the following link: http://www.huaweimarine.com/en/Company/timeline.
- 11.
See the following link: https://web.asn.com/en/about-asn/who-we-are/.
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Delaunay, M., Landriault, M. (2020). Connectivity and Infrastructure—The Arctic Digital Divide. In: Weber, J. (eds) Handbook on Geopolitics and Security in the Arctic. Frontiers in International Relations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45005-2_14
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