The Volume of the CDAL will include a special theme: A New Cold War? Re-envisioning the Future of Arctic Cooperation.
The obsession with “Arctic exceptionalism” literally died with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. The seven western Arctic states immediately ceased cooperation with Russia; five were already members of NATO at the time, and Finland and Sweden have since joined the alliance. At the same time, Russia has increasingly strengthened its bilateral alignment with non-Western, non-Artic states, such as China and the other BRICS countries. In February 2024, Russia threatened to withdraw from the Arctic Council if its work was not compatible with Russia’s interests.
Today, the framework that has upheld Arctic cooperation faces an unusual divide, one with formidable implications for military security. Against this background, the 12th volume of Current Developments in Arctic Law seeks contributions focusing on the future of the Arctic cooperation framework amid the global power dynamics confronting us today. How do we see the upheaval in the avenues for understanding shared norms in Arctic cooperation? What obstacles do we foresee in creating a space for dialogue and diplomacy, and how can we overcome them? What are the challenges in recasting states’ hard-power role as soft-power diplomacy, the original hallmark of Arctic cooperation? How can we possibly mitigate these? What challenges do we foresee in the region’s legal developments, such as the application and implementation of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement and the Arctic Scientific Cooperation Agreement? As a new Cold War era seemingly looms, can we regain the mutual confidence nurtured over time whereby the Arctic came to be regarded as a “zone of peace”?
The Volume also welcomes contributions beyond the special theme mentioned above. The expected contributions are short papers on current issues related to Arctic law, policy, politics, regional and institutional aspects, etc. Examples of contributions are short academic articles, review papers, popularized narratives of research findings, a summary of research or other projects initiated, conference or seminar reports, analysis of news stories, etc.
The publication is non-peer-reviewed but considered scientific. It is an open-access publication. The ideal length of the contribution should be no more than 3000 words. However, longer pieces are welcomed, too. The Volume is expected to be released in December 2024.
Send your contributions to Kamrul Hossain at khossain@ulapland.fi
Deadline: 30 October 2024.