Environmental Détente: U.S.-Russia Arctic science diplomacy through political tensions

Polar Journal. 2022. Vol. 12. No. 2. P. 322–342.

Devyatkin P.

The Arctic has long been the setting for collaborative scientific discovery, but tensions related to the Cold War and now the worsening conflict in Ukraine have curtailed effective cooperation. At the same time, the intensifying climate emergency that disproportionately threatens the Arctic has been described as a security threat by policymakers in both the U.S. and Russia, leading to calls for more science diplomacy. This paper revisits the history of U.S.-Russia Arctic science diplomacy and examines how previous initiatives can help us to understand what can be achieved, as well as the challenges that have to be addressed. Science diplomacy can produce valuable results and may form a suitable communication channel during times of political tensions. However, it is also clear that science cooperation is more easily realised during periods of cordial relations.

Keywords: Арктика, international relations, US-Russia relations, Российская Арктика, Arctic, science diplomacy