Voyage through the north: Domestic and international challenges to arctic shipping

Abstract

This contribution combines international factors like trade patterns with inner-Arctic factors such as Russian politics and investments to assess the viability of Arctic shipping along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The chapter first traces the historical development of the NSR. The author then analyses prevailing imaginaries inside Russia and outside the Arctic with regard to future usage of the NSR, and shows how these imaginaries have different implications for how the sea route will be or should be developed. After all, both imaginaries have in common that they overestimate the current potential of the route.