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Impacts of Globalization, and the

Circumpolar North in World Politics
Lassi Heininen
Published online: 04 Mar 2011.

To cite this article: Lassi Heininen (2005) Impacts of Globalization, and the Circumpolar North in
World Politics, Polar Geography, 29:2, 91-102, DOI: 10.1080/789610127

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 IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION, AND THE CIRCUMPOLAR
NORTH IN WORLD POLITICS

Lassi Heininen1
Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland, P.O. Box 122,
FI-96101 Rovaniemi, Finland

Abstract: One of the main themes of current international relations and geopolitics of
the Circumpolar North is the relationship between the Arctic and the outside world. This
relation has been shaped by the heightened strategic importance of the region, utilization
of (and competition over) strategic natural resources, and impacts of global change and
globalization upon the region. This paper investigates the character of this relationship
over time and argues that, in addition to negative impacts (or side-effects) of globaliza-
tion and climate change, positive developments also have emerged that make the Cir-
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cumpolar North an interesting and relevant area in world politics. The latter include the
growing geostrategic importance of the region, the scientific view of the North as a lab-
oratory for scientific research, the diversity of nature and cultures found in circumpolar
regions, the growing emphasis on innovations in governance and co-management, and
finally the fact that the North might now be (or soon become) a model for good gover-
nance.

INTRODUCTION

One may argue that, at the turn of the 21st century, capitalism finally had encom-
passed the entire circumpolar North, and that this was, in part, due to globalization.
But even more, it is also true that the arrival of capitalism reflected the end of the
Cold War, and the resultant opening of the Russian North to international and inter-
regional cooperation. As such, it can now be posited that the Circumpolar North has
become incorporated into the globalized worldfor example, through communica-
tion and information flows on the one hand, and through its integration into the world
economy on the other. The latter is indicated by an annual gross Arctic product of
$230 billion, based mostly on intensive exploitation and exports of energy sources to
meet the energy needs of developed countries (Duhaime, 2004).
However tempting it is to assume that the global importance of the North is
strictly a recent phenomenon, it should be understood that as early as the 16th century
the region already had become important to the major powers in Europe. For
example, England and Holland, searching for a sea route to China and India via the
Arctic Ocean, discovered the North in the process of searching for a Northwest Pas-
sage. Failing at this objective, these countries nonetheless maintained a presence in
the region for fishing and trade, and the latter interaction led to broader social and cul-
tural relations. Trade was, of course, a direct outcome of the beginnings of European
colonialism and the era of mercantile capitalism beginning in the 15th century. Thus,
the internationalization of the North, and the effect of global influences in the

1Email: lheinine@ulapland.fi

91

Polar Geography, 2005, 29, No. 2, pp. 91-102.

Copyright 2005 by V. H. Winston & Son, Inc. All rights reserved.
 92 LASSI HEININEN

Circumpolar North are not totally new phenomena, but rather originated several cen-
turies ago. Likewise, impacts of global environmental change and long-range pollu-
tion in the region have occurred for decades, in the form of long-range air and sea
pollution bringing DDT and radioactive materials into northern waters.
Today the relationship between the Arctic and the outside world, or between the
North and the South (meaning both the global context and that of the regional states as
defined by the recently established Arctic Council), is no longer primarily colonial.
Rather, it is now in a new stage of development as a result of fundamental changes that
have occurred throughout the world. For example, during the Cold War the focus of
attention of world powers was upon the East-West divide, which demarcated a bipolar
world. At the same time, however, there was both political discussion and academic
discourse on the gap at the global scale between the affluent North and the poor South.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the world is no longer divided into east and west
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on the basis of political ideologies, and a new North-South dimension to global order
has emerged that defines the relationship of the circumpolar North to the rest of the
world. Because of this, the North-South relationship in the context of the eight Arctic
states2 has become increasingly relevant, attracting much greater attention. Indeed,
Circumpolar Northern geopolitics has changed and continues to change rapidly.
For example, the Arctic Human Development Report (see Heininen, 2004a)
argued that at the beginning of the 21st century the most important themes or trends in
international relations and geopolitics of the Circumpolar North are increased circum-
polar cooperation by indigenous peoples organizations and sub-national govern-
ments, region-building with nations serving as major actors, and the relationship
between the Arctic and the outside world, including traditional security and environ-
mental problems. When considering the last theme, it is important to understand, first
and foremost, that the Circumpolar North has still a high strategic importance militar-
ily, especially for the United States and the Russian Federation. It also has high eco-
nomic value because of the regions rich natural resources and fierce competition over
ownership and usage of these resources (especially strategic minerals such as oil and
uranium). It is also important to understand that there are relevant impacts of global
changes, especially climate change, that influence the physical environment of north-
ern communities and their indigenous cultures, infrastructures, and regional identities.
Finally, it is important to note that within many of the Arctic countries, special poli-
cies towards the North have been developed that are known as Northern Dimension
policies (e.g., in Canada and the European Union).
Underlying these observations is the belief that if the North has attained a new
state of global relevance, and therefore now has a stronger presence in relation to the
rest of the world, it now also is in a stronger position to enter into or redefine its rela-
tions with the rest of the world. If the South has a greater interest in the North, and
indeed has become more dependent upon the North and its resources, then a new type
of North-South relationship may be emerging. One possible starting point for a redef-
inition was suggested by participants of the symposium on Northern Dimensions
Expanding Circumpolar Cooperation: The North-South relationship is not a question
of strict definitions . . . although it deals with borders by necessitybut should be

2The so-called Arctic Eight consist of Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Norway,

Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

 POLAR GEOGRAPHY 93

treated as a flexible concept that may be scientifically interesting and politically fruit-
ful to explore (Heininen and Rostock, 2004).
In recognition of this fact, this paper describes and discusses the geopolitical
background of state actors outside the region (in terms of the influences upon them).
It then explores the impacts of globalization and its flows upon what have often
been closely connected North-South relations. Despite negative side-effects of global-
ization and climate change, positive outcomes of globalization also exist in the North,
not least that the region has become an interesting and relevant area in world politics.
Among the major factors driving the renaissance of the North are devolution of gov-
ernance to the regional and local levels, the growing geostrategic importance of the
region, the emergence of a scientific view of the North as a laboratory for study, the
presence of a diversity of natural environments and cultures, the growing emphasis on
innovations in governance and co-management, and the fact that the North might now
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be (or soon become) a model for good governance.

GEOPOLITICAL BACKGROUND

It is interesting to compare the dynamics of pan-circumpolar relationslargely

involving East-West contactsand colonialism in the North. Unlike the East-West
orientation of the former, the latter featured close relations between North and South.
The North has always been a crossroads, and the frequent cultural contacts that have
taken place led to the development of networks between peoples sustained by fre-
quent travel, migration, trade, exchange of goods and experiences, and marriages
(e.g., Schweitzer, 1997). These relations between northern indigenous peoples across
the circumpolar North began long before any state with national interests came into
the North (e.g., Heininen, 2004a, p. 207).
As early as the Viking movements in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic,
regional cooperation existed in the areas of exploration, trade, and the establishment
of settlements. This cooperation was more pervasive than the historical scenarios of
violence, looting, and fighting. In many regions, for example, it was sub-regional
trade, or even economic integration among civil societies that was most important. A
case in point is the Pomor (White Sea) trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries
between the Saami and Norwegians in Finnmark and the Karelians and the Russians
in the White Sea region. Enhanced institutional, social, and cultural cooperation also
developed within the northernmost regions of Norway, Sweden, and Finland through-
out the 20th century, including the period of the Cold War. An especially interesting
type of cooperation in this region was the Peace Days, a triennial, rotating festival
designed to promote peace and disarmament among the citizens of the aforementioned
northern counties and Murmansk Oblast of the Soviet Union (e.g., Heininen, 1989).
The history of colonialism in turn provides examples of North-South relations.
Many involve the major historical powers and states of Europe. The aforementioned
English and Dutch efforts to locate the Northwest Passage led to exploration of the
Barents and Kara seas and to subsequent Dutch fishing and whaling operations in
these northern waters, and trade with the coastal inhabitants of the Kola Peninsula and
White Sea.
In general, the monarchs and governments of developed nation states slowly began
to recognize the value and importance of such Northern peripheries, gradually
 94 LASSI HEININEN

increasing their involvement in the North. Initially the focus was on natural resources
and trade, but this rather quickly extended to a desire for control over these activities
and for hegemony over the natural resources and people of the region. Such control
was accomplished by building churches and garrisons, as well as by taxation. Subse-
quently these were followed by trading companies of the South, generally supported
by their states. In the final analysis, the real goal was to legitimize the hegemony and
power of the nation states by demarcating national borders and taking control of terri-
tory, natural resources, and trade. The Second World War brought the armies of the
major powers to the region, and during the Cold War, the two superpowers divided the
circumpolar North between them, completing the militarization of the Arctic.
During the Cold War, the Circumpolar North featured prominently in the political
agendas of many of the eight Arctic states, and especially the Soviet Union and
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United States. Canada and Norway were also involved in this exercise, principally
due to the strategic importance of their northern areas for military security purposes.
Militarization more or less throughout the Circumpolar North was based upon tech-
nology models of geopolitics, specific paradigms that called for the presence of mil-
itary activities such as routine patrolling, radar stations, and military training and
testing. During this period the Arctic Ocean became a highly strategic bastion for
strategic nuclear submarines (SSBNs).
Another reason for the heightened strategic position of the Circumpolar North was
its resource endowment. Resource models of geopolitics deemed the Arctic strate-
gically important as a reserve of fish, marine mammals, and raw materials such as
strategic minerals and hydrocarbons. Because of its importance as a resource-rich
region, transportation was needed and as a consequence, new sea and air routes were
developed; some of these acquired strategic significance as well (e.g., the Northern
Sea Route and various air routes across the North Pole). Also important was the fact
that in the 20th century the Circumpolar North was increasingly perceived as labora-
tory for Western science. It was a place to collect scientific knowledge and experi-
ence in such areas as global mapping and remote sensing, fisheries, sea ice and ice-
breaking and other cold-climate technologies, as well as drilling for oil and natural
gas.
In the last few decades various political, legal, and institutional changes have been
made in the Circumpolar North, especially in North America and Greenland. This is
due to decolonization of, and devolution within, northern regions. An example is the
establishment of Home Rule in Greenland (e.g., Bankes, 2004). Economic integration
and the opening of world markets, together with the end of the Cold War, also have
pushed the governments of the eight Arctic states to be more open and receptive to
claims of self-determination, autonomy, and regionalism. One clear outcome of this
process has been greater opportunities for self-determination, and new types of agree-
ments, especially with regard to northern governance.3

3Success stories include the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), advo-

cated by indigenous peoples and environmentalists (AMAP, 2002, p. 26; for more details, see Downie and
Fenge, 2003), which entered into force in 2004. Furthermore, the Land Claims and Self-Government
Agreement between the Tlicho Government, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the Federal
Government of Canada (e.g., Heininen and Rostock, 2004), accepted by the Canadian parliament in spring
2005, gives land and water ownership rights natural resource use rights to indigenous peoples.
 POLAR GEOGRAPHY 95

In this sense, circumpolar regionalism has emerged in unprecedented ways, sup-

porting the claim that, as part of a new world order, a new and interesting confluence
of institutions, policies, and actors has emerged in the Northa confusing array of
international, national, and regional political, civil, and other organizations and
forums for Northern and Arctic cooperation. The real challenge remains to develop a
system of governance that fits these many pieces together in such as way as to pro-
mote effective governance (e.g., Heininen, 2004b). Whereas initially there was con-
siderable competition/overlap among national initiatives launched by governments of
the individual Arctic states, by 2005 a system based on international and regional
cooperation and region-building in the Arctic has emerged. Contributing to this new
model of governance was the development of the Arctic Environmental Protection
Strategy (AEPS), the formation of the Arctic Council, and other similar northern initi-
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atives, which spurred the European Union and Canada to develop their own northern
dimension in foreign policy.

GLOBALIZATION AND FLOWS OF GLOBALIZATION

Global flowssuch as the movement of people and ideas, communication and

trade among peoples, long-range air and sea pollution, and other forms of cross-
regional mobilityare not new phenomena. As noted above they (and their impacts)
have been present in the North for many years, and so has been the phenomenon of
globalization.4 Globalization refers to phenomena and systems that are truly world-
wide in scale, such as the information and communication systems and technologies
of the World Wide Web, or the development of world trade within global markets and
a global economy. Similarly, general changes such as global climate change also pro-
vide evidence of globalization. Thus, there are several types of globalization, or
several aspects of globalization, including economic, political, cultural and socio-eco-
nomic globalization, and globalization of the environment. What appears to be differ-
ent about globalization at the beginning of the 21st century is its widening scope
(numerous dimensions), and correspondingly, the seemingly constant mobility on a
global scale that accompanies it.
As a result of this heightened mobility, and the new opportunities afforded by
globalization, the nature and frequency of transnational flows have increased in num-
ber and in terms of their geographical reach: They include flows of: (1) natural
resources and other raw materials; (2) processed goods and finished products; (3) pol-
lutants and waste material; (4) capital and investment, including flows of and among
firms relating to commercial activities; (5) people in the most general sense (i.e.,
migration); (6) human resources, such as labor; (7) human capital, (e.g., expertise and
knowledge); (8) tourists; (9) information and ideas (via television and Internet),
including languages, arts, fashions, religions, and other cultural elements; (10) dis-
eases and illnesses; and (11) drugs and other illegal substances and practices such as
the trafficking of human beings (see Notes, 2005).

4Many events, processes, and commodities (e.g., colonialism, the World War II, television, popular

music, and Coca-Cola) attained nearly global distribution before the word globalization entered common
usage in the 1980s.
 96 LASSI HEININEN

Part and parcel of globalization at the beginning of the 21st century is the activity
of trans-national corporations (TNCs), which are global in scope, and not effectively
bound to place. They are thereby able to transfer their activities to any part of the
world, in the search for ever increasing profits. Many governments cannot (and
indeed do not want to) stop this globalization of production, finance, and labor. At the
same time, many countries, regions, and municipalities are attempting to attract new
companies, either to replace lost ones or to increase levels of employment. It is not
clear how, or if at all, corporations using inexpensive labor will exercise their societal
responsibilities. As the activities of nongovernmental organizations become more
global in scope (e.g., demonstrations against the World Trade Organization Summits
of 2000 and 2001 in Seattle and Cancun), their actions, including demonstrations and
protests, have real results both on at the national and local levels (Wehrfritz, 2003/
2004). Correspondingly, some have argued that business has relatively diminishing
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power as the game gets infinitely more complex and thus, power is a diffuse process
with multiple players, and therefore, business must think globally, act globally, but it
must also think locally and act locally (Pierer, 2003/2004, p. 53).
One conclusion that may be derived from such scenarios and events is that tradi-
tional powereither military, political, or economicused by governments or other
state actors has lost its original meaning and strategic importance. On the one hand,
this is a product of deepening economic integration, an increasingly globalized econ-
omy, and the freer flow of capital, labor and goods, as well as flows of information
and communication. On the other hand, this is due to the existence of new inter-
national actors, i.e., non-state actors such as transnational corporations and global
civilian organizations. This change in power structure and use has made it possible to
identify a new kind of powercalled here influenceexercised by non-state
actors, who although they may possess economic power, have virtually no traditional
power by any other measure. Rather they have strong interests and undertake effec-
tive activities, most carried out globally.
Another conclusion is that at the beginning of the 21st century, traditional power
is still important, but is now utilized by fewer and fewer major states. Its most promi-
nent element, security, is largely structured according to traditional security policy of
the worlds major states and guaranteed by their respective military forces. Nonethe-
less, it has now become increasingly relevant to define security in a more comprehen-
sive way, discussing, for example, environmental and civil security.
The transition of the international system after the end of the Cold War may well
continue, as the 21st century progresses. One possible change from the prevailing
state of continuous regional wars and conflicts that characterized the late 20th century
is that of the continuity of global warfare, a more or less endless struggle against a
new evil enemy (e.g., Litmanen and Peltokoski, 2003), such as international ter-
rorism.

FLOWS AND IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION IN THE NORTH

At the start of the 21st century, many impacts of globalization (or internationaliza-
tion) are evident in the Circumpolar North. Among the most important changes is the
utilization of natural resources (e.g., fish, oil, natural gas) on a massive scale. Other
important impacts include: (1) heightened tourism and increased demand for
 POLAR GEOGRAPHY 97

transportation; (2) militarization, in the sense of the presence of military activity and
personnel, including nuclear testing, and even the beginning of the militarization of
space; (3) long-range air and water pollution generally resulting from agriculture and
industrialization in the lower latitudes and radioactivity (making the Arctic Ocean a
sink for pollutants); (4) the presence of global and other international civil/
environmental organizations; (5) rapid warming of the Arctic climate and melting of
sea ice, with worldwide implications; (6) increased scientific research, especially in
the context of international cooperation; and (7) the emergence of the North in world
politics and the development in the Arctic states and the European Union of policies
toward their respective northern territories.
Some of these impacts are a legacy of the colonial era in the North, as most north-
ern regions have been the focus of efforts to expand state hegemony at one time or
another. While in some cases, the impacts of colonization are fading in importance, in
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other cases they are increasing, and new impacts are appearing. Many of these
impacts have posed (or now pose) the potential for conflicts within local communities
and peoples. Some have created (or will create) new threats to the sovereignty of the
states of the region. One cannot rule out the possibility of the spread of conflict to the
North, especially if the trend of continuous global warfare is sustained by a dramatic
increase in the world oil price, or if an essential resource such as drinking water
becomes scarce. The possibility also exists for illegal traffic and possible violent acts
against the sovereignty of the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean, such as Canada, and
actions by, or against, terrorist groups. In these kinds of situations, northern regions
should not only be capable of defending themselves, but even more, they must be able
to maintain order and in so doing exert a positive influence in world relations.
Another aspect of globalization in the North is climate change. It has become a
hotly debated issue in both the scientific and political communities (e.g., ACIA,
2004), and clearly is having a visible impact on the Circumpolar North. Closely
related is the role of the North in the global economy as an immense reservoir (and
increasingly production center) of hydrocarbons (e.g., Duhaime, 2004). The regions
gradual economic integration with the South has been accompanied by greater flows
of trade, and by fiscal flows representing taxation by the states. Over time, these glo-
balized transnational flows of commerce have been followed by flows of tourists,
information, capital, labor, and pollution.
Thus, by the beginning of the 21st century, the presence of global world economy
with its multifaceted flows is pervasive in the Circumpolar North. But not only are
new impacts and flows of globalization present today in the circumpolar North, but
also new actors in the form of transnational corporations (TNCs) and the environmen-
tal and other non-governmental organizations and movements that monitor and fre-
quently oppose their activities. Therefore, if corporate globalization can be said to
have arrived in the North, so also has civil globalization.

THE CIRCUMPOLAR NORTH IN WORLD POLITICS

Until recently, the Circumpolar North has not often been mentioned or considered
in the context of world politics. One reason is simply that politically the region is not
really an entity, but rather consists of eight parts, each incorporated within a different
national sovereignty. The Circumpolar North was, however, an object and target area
 98 LASSI HEININEN

for international negotiations and regime formation in the beginning of the 20th
century, even though there were still unknown areas of the European and North
American maps in what was essentially the world map of white men. Among the
various regimes, for example, were the Treaty for the Preservation and Protection of
Fur Seals (signed in 1911) and the Treaty of Spitsbergen (signed in 1920) (Young,
1998, pp. 30-31). The Arctic became better known worldwide, however, during first
half of the 20th century, when expeditions of exploration (and even partly competi-
tion) increasingly sought to reach the North Pole.
The region was increasingly incorporated into world politics during World War II,
due to its increased geostrategic importance, and especially during the beginning of
the Cold War. The North became a new battlefield for missiles, airplanes, and nuclear
weapons in the Soviet-U.S. military superpower competition. This continued through-
out the 1980s, as the maritime strategies of the two superpowers flourished in the
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region ( Miller, 1989), and the North and northern seas again attracted heightened
attention. From the point of view of postCold War world politics, the North remains
quite relevant in the context of arms control (and disarmament). For example, the
entire world followed the U.S.-Soviet Summit in Reykjavik in autumn of 1986, when
Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev almost agreed to completely dismantle their
nuclear arsenals. Following on this, the speech by Gorbachev a year later in
Murmansk included six initiatives for arms control and international civilian coopera-
tion in the Arctic, and initiated genuine international cooperation in the North
(Gorbachev, 1987; see also Heininen, 2004a, pp. 208-209).
Paralleling these geostrategic and military developments were initiatives designed
to enhance the rights of northern indigenous peoples. The Saami and the Inuit, in par-
ticular, through their organizations the (Nordic) Saami Council (founded in 1956) and
the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) (founded in 1977), exerted a positive
regional and global influence on the rights of indigenous peoples. These groups
encouraged indigenous peoples to become active, and to demand their rights for self-
determination and preservation of their native languages and cultures through such
venues as the International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), the
United Nations, and the Arctic Council.
Thus, despite the many of the aforementioned negative impacts of globalization,
there are also more positive indicators that demonstrate how the Circumpolar North
has become an interesting and important region in world politics. This is closely
linked to the question of whether the Circumpolar North is really a distinctive region
(e.g., Young and Einarsson, 2004, pp. 17-20). Discourse supporting such a position
views inter-regional and transboundary cooperation as a realistic possibility and a
new resource for regional and local (including indigenous) development. Exploiting
the possibilities afforded by new geopolitical thinking and actions, this view of the
Circumpolar North as a functioning, viable region challenges the power and hege-
mony politics of the Cold War (see Heininen, 2005).

Geopolitical Perspective

According to a more traditional geopolitical point of view, the circumpolar North

is a highly strategic area for the military, first as a potential staging ground for SSBNs
and other sea-based nuclear weapons; second, by providing empty space for
 POLAR GEOGRAPHY 99

military training and testing; and third as a site for deployment of land-based offen-
sive and defensive elements of the U.S. National Missile Defence (NMD) system.
Fourth, as noted above, the Circumpolar North also can be interpreted to act as a
potential platform for the militarization of outer space, for example, through the U.S.
national missile defense system.
Application of a traditional geopolitical perspective in the context of northern
resources focuses on the North as an important reserve of strategic natural resources
such as oil, inasmuch as a large part of the annual gross regional product of the Arctic
is earned through shipments designed to meet the energy needs of the developed
countries. Full realization of the potential for massive utilization of the Norths stra-
tegic minerals must await further development of the regions transportation and
infrastructure, however. Indeed, due to climate change, and because of the availability
of advanced technology, there are serious plans for new, shorter, sea routes between
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Europe and Asia, North America and Asia, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
(Gunnarsson, 2005).

Scientific Perspective

Another way of understanding the North has been as a laboratory for the gener-
ation of new scientific information and knowledge. Studies of global climate change,
involving the melting of glaciers in Greenland and sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, and of
new technologies for the storage and clean-up of nuclear waste are at the forefront of
current scientific research in the region. Furthermore, the Circumpolar North may be
viewed as a testing ground in the search for broader inter-relations between Western
science and traditional ecological knowledge.
Academic venues for the performance of this task include: the International Arctic
Science Committee, which represents the scientific communities of the Arctic states
and other states which undertake Arctic research; the University of the Arctic, a
cross-border network university for the entire region and representing new model for
higher education; and the Northern Research Forum (NRF), a new platform for open
discussion among stakeholders both within, and dealing with, the North.

Diversity of Life

A third point of view sees the Circumpolar North as a distinct component support-
ing global bio- and cultural diversity, and thus an important region for the entire
world. The North contains great diversity, including local communities of indigenous
peoples, supporting a special kind of regional dynamics. One way of maintaining this
diversity is to encourage sustainable development. Arguably, sustainable develop-
ment is possible in the North, and thus represents a realistic objective given sufficient
political will among regional and local actors (e.g., Heininen, 2004b).

A Peaceful Region

Despite the aforementioned problems, the Circumpolar North is somewhat unique

in that it is not afflicted by any single major regional or global problem such as war or
military crisis, a lack of fresh water, hunger, absolute poverty, international terrorism,
 100 LASSI HEININEN

or the ongoing fight against terrorism. The point is that here is that the North, as a
result, may be described currently as one of the more peaceful regions on earth. Fur-
thermore, in todays world the North to some degree has the capacity to counteract
some of the side-effects of globalization. As a result, the Circumpolar North as a
whole region, or even some of its sub-regions like Northern Europe, have the poten-
tial to demonstrate how non-violent methods of governance, can be applied to bring
peace and stability to other parts of the globe. Nordic Peace, based on the experi-
ence of Nordic cooperation and so-called Nordic values, has already been articulated
as a model (Archer, 2003).
Indeed, northern innovations in governance and co-management, and in political
and legal arrangements such as the devolution of power (Bankes, 2004, p. 114), have
potential for other regions. These reflect the amalgamation of traditional knowledge,
(higher) education, (potential) innovations and new ideas in the context of flexibile,
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resilient Northern communities (e.g., Aarsether et al., 2004, pp. 139-154). The experi-
ence that Northern societies have accumulated concerning governance and economies
may provide much-needed models of local governance to other regions of the world.
Also the new external political structures of international Northern cooperation have
some innovative features; for example, the governments and indigenous peoples
organizations working together in the Arctic Council and the two-level structure of
both the ministerial and regional council of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region (e.g.,
Heininen, 2004a, pp. 212-216).

The North as an Innovation Center

The North appears to be an active, fresh, and innovative region, a characteristic

manifest in pan-Arctic cross-border cooperation, region-building, and through new
and innovative political arrangements. In order to implement sustainability, one must
promote the development of adaptive capacity and accelerate human change, and for
this good governance is needed. The key issue for good governance is pluralismof
interests, actors, and forums of expression, relatively transparent and simple institu-
tions, and representative democracy among the population (Heininen and Rostock,
2004). This is not possible without societal and environmental responsibility on the
part of all international and regional actors.

CONCLUSION

Despite the argument presented above of the Arctic as a distinctive region, in real-
ity there is limited space in the international system for such viewpoints articulated by
those who are not strong actors at the state or inter-governmental levels. On the other
hand, the Circumpolar North is not a singular political entity or international actor per
se, but a geographical region with many societies allocated among eight unified states
and two autonomous regions. Thus the North has neither political power nor unity,
lacks sufficient economic power, has rather a small population, and lacks capital and
power centers in a traditional sense.
Indeed, this reflects the fact that the economic driving force and political power
important for the development of the region are still situated outside the region, as
any inventory of economic development measures, including the gross regional
 POLAR GEOGRAPHY 101

product, readily shows. Furthermore, international cooperation in the North has

focused more on increasing the number of joint projects rather than the depth of com-
munication and cooperation among them (e.g., Heininen, 2004b).
The present situation, however, allows room for the forging of a new North-South
relationship. The project, which promises to be both intellectually stimulating and
politically fruitful and relevant, could be undertaken, for example, within the context
of the European Unions Northern Dimension or Canadian foreign policy (or northern
strategy in Canada). It is not a question of finding strict definitions, but rather dealing
with flexible concepts. Advancing this process together in conjunction with an open
dialogue on global issues would represent a genuine contribution of the Circumpolar
North to current world politics.

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