Polar Geopolitics

Nov 18 2024 65 ep. 34 mins 880
Polar Geopolitics Podcast artwork

Polar Geopolitics analyzes the local and global implications of rapid climate change and rising international interest in the Arctic and Antarctica. The podcast is centered around in-depth discussions with experts on a wide array of topics relevant to the northern and southern polar regions, including governance and international relations; geo-economics and resource exploitation; environmental preservation and sustainable development; scientific research and science diplomacy; infrastructural expansion; and social and societal issues in high latitude locations.

RSS feed Share
Copy RSS


Subscribe on Podcast Addict


Cracks in Consensus: Krill, marine conservation and the consequences of CCMALR 43 failures for Antarctic governance and geopolitics

Nov 18 2024 42 mins  
Many observers considered the 43rd annual CCAMLR meeting in Hobart a major disappointment due to the failure to renew important protections on krill fisheries and the continued lack of progress on marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Some are even concerned that the breakdown in consensus, centered on China and Russia refusing to extend existing or instit

Carrots, sticks and the near-Arctic state narrative: China’s influence strategies in the Arctic

Oct 04 2024 41 mins  
How does China exert influence in the Arctic, and has it already peaked? A new in-depth report published by the Wilson Center analyzes Chinese information and influence operations in each of the eight Arctic Council member states. The report’s co-author Adam Lajeunesse, associate professor at St. Francis Xavier University, joins the podcast to explain China’s multifaceted influ

Analyzing ATCM 46: Current issues and dynamics in the governance and geopolitics of Antarctica

Sep 27 2024 41 mins  
From geopolitical posturing surrounding the status of Belarus and Canada inside the Antarctic Treaty, to diverging views on science, environmental protection and the regulation of tourism, the 46thAntarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kochi, India provided, in an era of great power competition and new constellations within the international system, a snapshot on the current stat

Arctic nation, or not? The Geopolitics of Arctic state identity

Sep 19 2024 39 mins  
The eight member states of the Arctic Council each draw upon geography, history and other factors to promote their identity as an Arctic nation, while non-Arctic states seeking influence in the region use different—although sometimes similar—arguments to foster an image of being an Arctic stakeholder or, as in one prominent example, a “near-Arctic state”. The author of the

Spotlight on Svalbard: Realities and myths in a microcosm of Arctic geopolitics

Aug 28 2024 92 mins  
Although a unique set of circumstances characterize Svalbard, belonging to Norway under a 1920 treaty, the situation there reflects many of the major trends—and faultlines—in Arctic geopolitics. From science diplomacy and security to geoeconomics and great power competition, the High Arctic archipelago, where both Norway and Russia maintain permanent settlements and an array of

Mobilizing Arctic expertise: Seven scientific themes for Arctic Frontiers 2025

Jun 17 2024 33 mins  
Science and expert knowledge are pivotal for meeting many of the environmental challenges, economic opportunities and geopolitical imperatives of the contemporary Arctic. The Arctic Frontiers conference reflects this fact through its selection of seven scientific themes that serve as pillars for the annual event held every January in Tromsø, Norway. Not only natural science, the n

Antarctic science or polar oil exploration? Prof. Klaus Dodds on Russia’s grey zone activities in the Weddell Sea

May 17 2024 40 mins  
Reports of Russia’s discovery of huge oil reserves in Antarctic waters has caused concern in some quarters over (frozen) territorial claims and the future of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, which permanently bans mining in and around the continent. Prof. Klaus Dodds, whose recent testimony for a UK parliamentary inquiry sparked a media firestorm

Securitization dynamics: Greenland’s pivotal place in the Arctic security configuration

Apr 15 2024 86 mins  
“Greenland is the most dynamic piece in the new Arctic security jigsaw puzzle”, according to a new book that applies the international relations theory of securitization to analyze the security and geopolitics of Greenland and the Arctic. Marc Jacobsen, Ole Wæver and Ulrik Pram Gad, co-editors and authors of Greenland in Arctic Security: (De)securitization Dynamics under Clima

From the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait: Arctic geopolitics at the regional and local levels

Apr 02 2024 40 mins  
Recorded live at Arctic Frontiers 2024, Andreas Østhagen, Kelsey Frazier and Eric Paglia discuss global trends affecting the geopolitical position of the Arctic and local security issues specific to Alaska and the Barents Sea region.

Northern Flank: Arctic-Baltic security interconnections since the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland

Mar 25 2024 64 mins  
To analyze the transformed security environment in Northern Europe since the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, this episode features an interview with Minna Ålander, research fellow at the Finish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki. The in-depth discussion, at time when the Nordic countries have been engaged with their NATO partners in the major Nordic Response 2024