This episode of The IR thinker explores the shifting geopolitics of the Arctic with Professor Klaus Dodds, examining how climate change, great-power rivalry and evolving governance arrangements are transforming the region’s strategic significance. The conversation considers the role and limits of the Arctic Council, rising tensions among Arctic and non-Arctic states, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the influence of non-state actors and the Arctic’s place in global energy security, before turning to key unanswered research questions in Arctic studies.

Klaus Dodds

Professor Klaus Dodds is Executive Dean for the School of Life Sciences and Environment and Professor of Geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, the Royal Geographical Society, the Regional Studies Association and an Honorary Fellow of the British Antarctic Survey. His public roles include serving as a specialist adviser to the UK Parliament and working with NATO’s Strategic Foresight Analysis and the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on post-Covid futures.

Publications:

Border Wars

Ice humanities

Ice - Nature and Culture

Content

00:00 - Introduction

02:06 - Evolution of Arctic’s Strategic Importance

07:35 - Absence of Ex-Soviet States in Arctic Ownership

11:07 - Influence of Climate Change on Arctic Geopolitics

16:23 - Safeguarding Arctic Indigenous Communities

19:27 - Role of the Arctic Council

23:24 - Historical Trajectory of the Arctic Council

27:44 - Arctic Governance: Positive Outcomes of the Arctic Council

31:37 - Key Drivers of Tension in the Arctic

38:25 - China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Arctic

43:40 - Influence of Non-State Actors in the Arctic

48:22 - The Arctic’s Role in States’ Energy Security

53:12 - Unanswered Research Questions in Arctic Studies

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