Introductory Chapter

Abstract

The basic objective of this book is to place the Northern Sea Route (NSR)¹, as the most large-scale economic endeavor of the North, into the broader picture of contemporary Arctic politics. Or put somewhat differently: to assess the political prerequisites involved in getting international use of the NSR recognized as a pan-Arctic challenge to be an object of concerted concern between the Arctic states. The overall focus will be on the issuespecific needs, properties and interactional pattern existing at present between the two driving forces of regional politics: the urge to achieve an adequate level of environmental protection to sustain an eco-system of unique fragility, and the need to utilize regional environmental and geographical components for the sake of preserving national security. The prevailing perceptions on the coexistence and relationship between these two issue areas are twofold. First, the conception is that some of the measures implemented to take care of the respective needs of the issue areas may conflict, creating severe political restrictions on the pace, scope and depth of the regional process to set an Arctic agenda of timeliness and adequacy. Second, and partly contrary to the first, the assumption is that the two issue areas are apt to coexist in conditioned harmony — in a parallel fashion. The concept of environmental security, even indicates the possibility of merging the two forces.