International politics in the Arctic : contested borders, natural resources and Russian foreign policy / Geir Hønneland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hønneland, Geir, author.

Series:

Library of Arctic studies ; 3.

Library of Arctic studies ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geopolitics--Arctic regions.

Geopolitics.

Environmental protection--Arctic regions.

Environmental protection.

Politics and government.

Relations.

Arctic Regions.

Russia (Federation)--Foreign relations.

Russia (Federation).

International relations.

Russia (Federation)--Relations--Arctic regions.

Arctic regions--Relations--Russia (Federation).

Arctic regions.

Arctic regions--Politics and government.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

viii, 401 pages : maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

London : I.B. Tauris, 2017.

Summary:

As the ice around the Arctic landmass recedes, the territory is becoming a flashpoint in world affairs. New trade routes, cutting thousands of miles off journeys, are available, and the Arctic is thought to be home to enormous gas and oil reserves. The territorial lines are new and hazy. This book looks at how Russia deals with the outside world vis-à-vis the Arctic. Given Russia's recent bold foreign policy interventions, these are crucial issues and the realpolitik practiced by the Russian state is essential for understanding the Arctic's future. Here, Geir Hønneland brings together decades of cutting-edge research - investigating the political contexts and international tensions surrounding Russia's actions. Hønneland looks specifically at 'region-building' and the environmental politics of fishing and climate change, on nuclear safety and nature preservation, and also analyzes the diplomatic relations surrounding clashes with Norway and Canada, as well as at the governance of the Barents Sea. International Politics in the Arctic is a crucial addition to our understanding of contemporary international relations concerning the Polar North. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Background

Introduction 3

1 Identity Formation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region 8

Introduction: The Creation of the Barents Region 8

The Region-building Approach 10

Self and Other in Identity Formation 11

Alleged We-hood: The Return from a Historical Parenthesis 13

The Fragility of We-hood 14

'The Cultural Counter-argument' 17

'The Identity of Contrasts' 19

Conclusion 23

Part II Environmental Discourse in the European Arctic

2 Fish Discourse: Norway, Russia and the Northeast Arctic Cod 27

Introduction 27

The Concept of Discourse Analysis 28

The Study of Environmental Discourse 30

Scientific Recommendations and Established Quotas Since 1990 33

Defining Major Discourses 34

Conclusion 45

3 East Meets West: Deliberations on the Environment 48

Introduction 48

The Study of Environmental Discourse 49

Environmental Issues in the European Arctic 51

Defining Major Discourses 53

Brokering Scientific Knowledge 63

Storylines and Metaphors 65

Embeddedness and Discourse Classification 66

Conclusion 69

Part III Implementing International Environmental Agreements in the Russian North

4 From Air Pollution Control to Nuclear Safety: Why Implement? 75

Introduction 75

Implementation: The 'What's, 'Why's and 'How's 76

What's the Problem? 80

What's to be Implemented? 83

Implementation Performance and Target Compliance 86

Implementation Activities 87

Discussion 93

Conclusion 99

5 Implementing Global Nature Protection Agreements 102

Introduction 102

The Global Nature Protection Regimes 104

Implementation of the Agreements in Russia 106

Domestic Implementation Activities 113

Conclusion 122

Part IV Combating Communicable Diseases in Northwest Russia

6 Western vs Post-Soviet Medicine: Donors and Dilettantes 127

Introduction 127

DOTS in Russia and the Baltic states 129

General Receptiveness to Western Ideas 139

Conclusion 146

7 Patriots, Doctors and Happy Soviets 149

Introduction 149

Interpreting Qualitative Interviews 150

Health Initiatives from the West 152

The Interview Scene: 'Cast' and Interpretation 153

Part V Russians in the Borderlands

8 How to be a Northerner 165

Borderlands, Identity, Narrative 165

Interview 1 'When I told them how I lived, they went all misty-eyed' 169

Interview 2 'If you'd asked me last year, I would have said Murmansk was the best place in the world' 172

Interview 3 'The north is like a bottomless pit dragging you down' 174

Negotiating Stereorypes about North and South 176

The Vocabulary Available - Identity as Narrative 181

Changing Borders? 185

Conclusions 187

9 How to be a Russian 190

Introduction 190

Interview 1 'Their eyes are always wide open' 190

Interview 2 'As nations, they're on the decline' 191

Interview 3 'Everything over there predisposes them to equanimity' 192

Exploring Stereotypes about Scandinavians 193

The Words to Say It - Identity as Narrative 201

New Borderlands? 204

Narrative Juggling 209

Part VI Post-Agreement Bargaining in the Barents Sea

10 Making Russia Comply: Bargaining Precautionary Fisheries Management in the Barents Sea 215

Introduction 215

Approaches to State Compliance with International Treaties 217

Post-agreement Bargaining 219

The Norwegian-Russian Fisheries Management Regime in the Barents Sea 222

Norwegian-Russian Bargaining Experiences 225

Why does Russia Comply? 229

Post-agreement Bargaining Revisited 235

11 Fishing Field Deliberations 237

An Observer's Account 238

Russian Fishers' Accounts in the late 1990s 246

Russian Fishers' Accounts Ten Years Later 250

Bargaining Dynamics 254

Bargaining Results 258

Post-agreement Bargaining Revisited 262

Part VII Arctic Talk, Russian Politics

12 'The Global Fight against Canada in the Arctic' 267

Identity and Foreign Policy 267

All the Way to the Pole 270

'The Global Fight' 274

'The Arctic is our Everything' 281

Our Ocean, Our Future, Our Foes 285

13 'They'll Squeeze us Out, it'll be the End' 292

Endless Negotiations, Big Compromise 292

'They'll Squeeze us Out' 297

Our Common Kitchen Garden 307

The Principle of Fairness, the Ultimate Betrayal 309

Defending the Other Self 317

In-between Past and Future 321.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 323-385) and index.

ISBN:

9781784538989

1784538981

OCLC:

989056858