The Arctic encompasses not only the territory of eight countries, but also vital geological features and strategic waterways that have made the region an area of ecological concern and geopolitical contestation.

To help navigate these waters, The Debrief talks with Dr. Mary Thompson-Jones, a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer and professor and chair of Women in Diplomacy and National Security, who is the author of America in the Arctic: Foreign Policy and Competition in the Melting North (Columbia University Press, 2025).