Arctic and Antarctic

List of Arctic and Antarctic articles

Participants at their seats to attend the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland on May 7, 2019.
Participants at their seats to attend the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council in Rovaniemi, Finland on May 7, 2019.

The Rise and Sudden Fall of the Arctic Council

With Russia no longer involved, it’s hard to see what Arctic politics can still accomplish.

People attend a ship launch ceremony in Russia.
People attend a ship launch ceremony in Russia.

Russia’s Arctic Claims Are on Thin Ice

Russia is making a freedom of navigation operation more likely.

A Russian service member stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in Russia, on May 17, 2021.
A Russian service member stands guard by a military truck on the island of Alexandra Land, which is part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago in Russia, on May 17, 2021.

After Ukraine, Can the Arctic Peace Hold?

A Western boycott of the Arctic Council could backfire.

Two fighter jets are shown on a cloudy day.
Two fighter jets are shown on a cloudy day.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Biden’s Arctic Power Plays

With Russia and China staking claims, can diplomacy stave off a militarization of the far north?

A Russian Arctic gas tanke
A Russian Arctic gas tanke

For a Biden Arctic Agenda, Look to Governance

Competition with China is too narrow a strategy for the far north.

Arctic Competition Power Map Part 2
Arctic Competition Power Map Part 2

Arctic Competition – Part Two

FP Analytics’ two-part Arctic Competition Power Map provides Insiders with an in-depth breakdown of how melting sea ice is enabling increased commercial activity and geopolitical competition over resources, shipping routes, and territory in the Arctic.

A picture taken on June 6, 2018, shows a fish farm in the Sorvagsfjorour fjord on Vagar island, one of the Faroe Islands.
A picture taken on June 6, 2018, shows a fish farm in the Sorvagsfjorour fjord on Vagar island, one of the Faroe Islands.

Forget Greenland, There’s a New Strategic Gateway to the Arctic

The Faroe Islands have a history of trading with everyone who will buy their fish. With growing tensions in the Arctic region, the islands are now receiving more attention from superpowers.

Arctic Competition Power Map
Arctic Competition Power Map

Arctic Competition – Part One

In Part I of FP Analytics’ Arctic Competition Power Map, we visualize how climate change is physically transforming the Arctic, lay out the scale of potential resources that will be made available, and detail the positions and interests of major players in the region.

The Moskva icebreaker
The Moskva icebreaker

There Is No Arctic Axis

Russia and China’s partnership in the north is primarily driven by business, not politics.

The town of Ilulissat, Greenland
The town of Ilulissat, Greenland

Trump’s Budget Puts Down Stakes in Greenland

Trump’s plan to buy the vast Arctic island fell short. But his administration is allocating half a million dollars moving ahead to build a U.S. consulate there.

Greenland, where the U.S. plans to open a new consulate under Trump.
Greenland, where the U.S. plans to open a new consulate under Trump.

Trump Puts Down New Roots in Greenland

Will the new U.S. diplomatic outpost in the Arctic get a warm welcome?

A Greenland ice melt lake atop the sheet, seen from 5,000 feet above, in August. Across Greenland’s massive ice sheet, blue pools of melted water, forming icy lakes, dot the landscape as far as the eye can see.
A Greenland ice melt lake atop the sheet, seen from 5,000 feet above, in August. Across Greenland’s massive ice sheet, blue pools of melted water, forming icy lakes, dot the landscape as far as the eye can see.

Greenland Is the Center of the World

The Arctic island offers a harrowing reminder of the environmental damage, and political dangers, already imposed by climate change.

NASA avionics technician Lauren Prinski looks out the window of a research aircraft before takeoff from Thule Air Base in Greenland on March 30, 2017.
NASA avionics technician Lauren Prinski looks out the window of a research aircraft before takeoff from Thule Air Base in Greenland on March 30, 2017.

Here’s How Trump Should Have Approached Greenland

The United States can build on its strategic toehold without buying the entire country.

Soldiers board an amphibious warfare ship on the Barents Sea shore in western Arctic Russia on April 17.
Soldiers board an amphibious warfare ship on the Barents Sea shore in western Arctic Russia on April 17.
1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, deployed on Operation Nanook-Nunalivut
1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, deployed on Operation Nanook-Nunalivut

Vanguards of the Thawing Arctic

After two decades of war in the desert, Canadian troops must relearn how to operate in the frozen north.

A Ukrainian soldier stands guard
A Ukrainian soldier stands guard

Russia’s Next Land Grab Won’t Be in an Ex-Soviet State. It Will Be in Europe.

First he came for Georgia, then for Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s next target is likely to be a non-NATO nation in the EU.

U.S. Marines land in Stordal, Norway, on Jan. 16, 2017. (Ned Alley/AFP/Getty Images)
U.S. Marines land in Stordal, Norway, on Jan. 16, 2017. (Ned Alley/AFP/Getty Images)

A New Cold Front in Russia’s Information War

As NATO’s footprint grows in Norway, Moscow may be using an espionage case to inflame the country’s internal divisions.

A cruise ship near the harbor of Ilulissat off the west coast of Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle, in August 2012. (Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)
A cruise ship near the harbor of Ilulissat off the west coast of Greenland, north of the Arctic Circle, in August 2012. (Education Images/UIG via Getty Images)

Stretched Thin on Thin Ice

With the Arctic melting and northern coast guards struggling to keep up, the next disaster is a matter of when, not if.

A helicopter takes off from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter one week after the passage of Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 27, 2017. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images)
A helicopter takes off from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter one week after the passage of Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 27, 2017. (Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images)

The Head of the U.S. Coast Guard Isn’t Afraid to Talk About Climate Change

It may not be a White House priority. But rising sea levels are critical to the service’s operations.

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