The High North: Winter is Going

The Delegates Lounge

What if the melting Arctic ice could reshape global power dynamics? Join us as we sit down with Norway's Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, to discuss the emerging significance of the Arctic region in today's geopolitical landscape. From the creation of new sea routes to the evolving strategic challenges in the Arctic, Minister Eide offers an in-depth look at the interplay between environmental change and international diplomacy. J. Alex Tarquinio, our host in The Delegates Lounge, sat down with Norway’s foreign minister during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington.
With the accession of Finland and Sweden into NATO, the Russian Federation is now the only Arctic state that’s not a member of NATO. But Moscow has more military bases within the Arctic Circle than the NATO members overall. For its part, China has declared itself a “near Arctic nation,” a claim that Norway’s foreign minister brushed aside.
Speakers:
J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s Foreign Minister (guest). @EspenBarthEide of @NorwayMFA on X, formerly known as Twitter.
References:
Espen Barth Eide, during his first term as foreign minister, in the government of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, invited NATO members to the Arctic in 2013.
https://www.nato.int/docu/review/articles/2013/05/06/the-changing-arctic-how-involved-should-nato-be/index.html
Russia's military bases inside the Arctic Circle outnumber NATO’s, according to data compiled by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and Reuters.
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ARCTIC-SECURITY/zgvobmblrpd/
The United States, Canada, and Finland announced the trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or “ICE Pact."
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/07/11/biden-harris-administration-announces-new-polar-partnership-ice-pact-alongside-finland-and-canada/
For more on the sanctions, refer to the U.S. Treasury and State Department press releases.

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2546

https://www.state.gov/new-measures-to-degrade-russias-wartime-economy/

The United Nations published its latest sea-level rise report in August.

https://www.un.org/climatechange/reports/sea-level-rise

The conversation included a discussion about the influence of the Norwegian political thriller TV series set in the near future "Occupied."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4192998/
Program Note:
The sharp-eared among you will have noted the bird calls. We received permission from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library for the recording of the Ivory Gull, a Near Threatened Arctic bird.
Credit: Ivory Gull by Stewart D. MacDonald; Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

Capitole

1. The High North: Winter is Going (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Guest Speaker: Foreign Minister of Norway, Espen Barth Eide (00:00:48)

3. The Relative Importance of the Artic to NATO and the world (00:04:39)

4. NATO's Response to Present and Future Dangers (00:11:50)

5. The Effectiveness of Sanctions on Adversaries (00:16:57)

6. NATO as a Global Ally and Past Predictions (00:20:03)

7. Cultural Influence on Threat Perceptions (00:27:19)