«Arctic Exceptionalism» and «New Normal»: Trends in the Development of International Relations in the Arctic After 2022
Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimovsky pr-t, 32, Moscow 117997, Russian Federation.
St. Petersburg State University, 1/3, 8 entrance, Smolny Str., St. Petersburg 191060, Russian Federation.
The Arctic region, which held a special position in the discourse of international political science for more than ten years, has gradually acquired various and often diametrically opposed images on the pages of studies both in English and in Russian. For a long time, the basis for the exclusively peaceful and constructive coexistence of the Arctic powers in the region was the successful functioning of the central regional forum – the Arctic Council – designed to promote international cooperation, resolve common problems and maintain stability in the region. With the end of the 2000s, established attempts to theorize the Arctic as an exceptional region of international relations were under scrutiny. There is no generally accepted consensus regarding the role and state of both the forum itself and regional relations after 2022, either among researchers or among official representatives of the Arctic states. This situation opens up space for discussions and attempts to rethink the processes taking place in the Arctic. In the context of the unprecedented crisis taking place in the Arctic region, it is especially important not only to analyze the development of international cooperation regimes, but also to clearly understand the processes taking place in the region and going beyond the traditional narrative of the ‘exceptionality’ of the Arctic today. The main goal of this article is to identify these processes and their implications for international relations in the North Circumpolar. In the process of writing the paper, firstly, research works devoted to the conceptualization of the Arctic as a space of international relations were analyzed and structured in accordance with the theoretical paradigm used in them; secondly, the concept of the ‘new normal’ was adapted to the realities of regional politics; thirdly, the main trends in the development of international relations in the Arctic after 2022 were identified.
Keywords
Irina A. STRELNIKOVA, Cand. Sci (Law), Associate Professor, Director at the Center for Interdisciplinary Arctic Studies Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, National Research University ‘Higher School of Economics’; Senior Researcher at the ‘Russia, China, and the World’ Center, Institute of China and Contemporary Asia, Russian Academy of Sciences;
Daniil I. AGAFONOV, Analyst at the Center for Interdisciplinary Arctic Studies, Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, National Research University ‘Higher School of Economics’; Postgraduate Student at the School of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University.
Authors’ contribution: equal contribution of the authors to the collection of materials, structuring and writing the text of the article.
Competing interests: no potential competing financial or non-financial interest was reported by the authors.
For citation: Strelnikova I.A., Agafonov D.I. ‘Arctic Exceptionalism’ and ‘New Normal’: Trends in the Development of International Relations in the Arctic After 2022. Analysis and Forecasting. IMEMO Journal, 2026, no. 1, p. 97-110. DOI: 10.20542/afij-2026-1-97-110 EDN: XXOBJX
For citation:
Strelnikova I., Agafonov D. «Arctic Exceptionalism» and «New Normal»: Trends in the Development of International Relations in the Arctic After 2022. Analysis & Forecasting. IMEMO Journal, 2026, no 1, pp. 97-110. https://doi.org/10.20542/afij-2026-1-97-110
