Geopolitics and power constellations in the Arctic

Abstract

Geopolitics concerns the relationship between geographical space and international relations. 1 This relationship is by some assumed to be extremely tight. E. W. Said reasons: “Since no State is outside or beyond geography, no State is completely free from the struggle over geography.”2 Or in J. Painter’s imagery: “There can be no politics which is not geographical.”3 These statements are geographical determinism in the extreme. A more relaxed version of the role of geography in politics claims that: the world image of States is conditioned by their own geographical location and horizon; technological changes trans-tie regions together and show their vulnerability and interdependency.4 This version isapplied here.