Abstract: On 20 May 2021, the 12th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting adopted the first ‘Arctic Council Strategic Plan 2021-2030’. It marked 25 years of the Arctic Council, a unique organization that forged cooperation between Cold War rivals, to protect the fragile Arctic environment. At a time when its success was being celebrated, lest one would have suspected that its functioning would be paused a year later, owing to a conflict that is geographically not in the Arctic, but one that involves the Arctic states. The extensive work on climate, environment protection, sustainable development, disaster management and pollution stands threatened. The conflict also has substantial impact on the indigenous people, cross-border movement, science and research, and exchange of information. Does this mark the ‘return of geopolitics’ to the region and its numerous institutions? This may or may not be the new normal, but certainly has impacted the dynamics in the Arctic. Since Norway took the chairship of the Arctic Council in May 2023, a return-to-normalcy plan is being worked out. However, there is no knowing of the right time, and it is a gamble to keep Russia, practically half the Arctic, out of the primary pan-regional organization.
About the speaker: Rashmi Ramesh is a PhD scholar at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. Her thesis is titled “Governance in the Arctic: Role of Institutions with Special Reference to the Arctic Council, Sámi Council and the Arctic Circle.” Her research interests include Arctic geopolitics and governance, Asia’s role in the Arctic, climate change, and India’s foreign policy. She is currently a Visiting Researcher with the Arctic Governance Research Group at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland. Recently, she has been chosen as the ‘Arctic PASSION Ambassador’ by the European Union funded Arctic PASSION Project, a collaboration of polar scientists, scholars from 17 countries and the indigenous people from the Arctic.