International Cooperation in the Arctic: The Arctic Council

Abstract

This chapter examines historical evolution and the present-day structure and activities of the Arctic Council. First, the author presents the historical development of the AC that stretches from the so-called Rovaniemi Process and formal establishment of the Council in 1996 until the present day. Second, the author presents the current structure and operation of the AC. This has been gradually strengthening over 25 years of its existence. As a result, the Council increasingly resembles an international organization while retaining its formal status as an intergovernmental discussion forum. However, with the start of the Ukrainian crisis, even those member-states, which favored the Council’s transformation into a full-fledged international organization and expansion of its agenda by including the security problematique, now suggest retaining its current status and mandate in order to avoid possible complications in the AC functioning. Russia’s role in the AC has been also examined, including the prospects of Moscow’s AC chairmanship in 2021-2023.