Deep Dish on Global Affairs The Arctic Is Heating Up. So Is the Competition to Control It
Nov 6, 2025
Kenneth Rosen, a journalist and Arctic geopolitics author, and Anna Wieslander, Director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council, dive into the urgent geopolitical shifts caused by climate change in the Arctic. They discuss how melting ice is opening new shipping routes and resource access, sparking competition among Russia, China, and NATO. The breakdown of Arctic collaboration post-2014 and the implications for US and Canadian security efforts are highlights, alongside insights into the challenges of Arctic governance and cooperation.
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Melting Arctic Reveals Strategic Gaps
- The Arctic is melting up to four times faster than the global average, revealing shipping lanes and destabilizing permafrost-based infrastructure.
- Kenneth Rosen warns the U.S. lacks preparedness in monitoring, military presence, and Arctic-specific infrastructure to compete effectively.
2014 Shifted Arctic From Cooperation To Concern
- After 2014 Russia's annexation of Crimea eroded Arctic cooperation and turned a previously low-tension region into a security concern.
- Anna Wieslander notes Europe previously treated the Arctic as exceptional and largely non-military until that spillover.
Russia’s Arctic Dominance And Interests
- Russia remains the largest Arctic state with military dominance and major resource interests along its coastline.
- Anna Wieslander stresses Russia prefers order in the Arctic but seeks strategic advantage through presence and modernization.
