The Future of the Arctic Council

David Balton; Timo Koivurova

doi:10.1017/aju.2026.10072

The Future of the Arctic Council

David Balton, Timo Koivurova

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › peer-review

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Abstract

The Arctic Council, once considered a model intergovernmental forum, now faces profound challenges as it seeks to navigate geopolitical tensions arising from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war there. The advent of the second Trump administration has further complicated the work of the Arctic Council, due to the administration’s stances on climate change and its threats to make Greenland—and even Canada—part of the United States. This essay provides a brief history of the Arctic Council and its successes over the years and offers insights into its admittedly uncertain future.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	181-185
Number of pages	5
Journal	AJIL Unbound
Volume	120
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/aju.2026.10072
Publication status	Published - 20 Apr 2026
MoEC publication type	A2 Review article in a scientific journal

Keywords

geopolitics
arctic region
climate changes
international cooperation
international politics
History of Anthropology

Field of science

International political science

Access to research output

10.1017/aju.2026.10072Licence: CC BY

the-future-of-the-arctic-council
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of American Society of International Law.
Final published version, 95.6 KBLicence: CC BY

Citation for this output

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AB - The Arctic Council, once considered a model intergovernmental forum, now faces profound challenges as it seeks to navigate geopolitical tensions arising from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war there. The advent of the second Trump administration has further complicated the work of the Arctic Council, due to the administration’s stances on climate change and its threats to make Greenland—and even Canada—part of the United States. This essay provides a brief history of the Arctic Council and its successes over the years and offers insights into its admittedly uncertain future.

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KW - arctic region

KW - climate changes

KW - international cooperation

KW - international politics

KW - History of Anthropology

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VL - 120

SP - 181

EP - 185

JO - AJIL Unbound

JF - AJIL Unbound

ER -

The Future of the Arctic Council

Abstract

Keywords

Field of science

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