The Arctic Region as an Object of Geopolitical Contradictions

Over the past thirty years, the world community has increased interest in the Arctic, new opportunities are emerging due to global warming, and many states have seen new prospects for their own development and strengthening their influence in the world. But non-Arctic states will have to prove the validity of their interests in order to get the right to participate in decision-making in the region. The results of many scientific studies indicate large oil and gas deposits, as well as reserves of many other types of minerals, respectively, interested countries will need to confirm the legitimacy of their rights to extract resources. With the melting of glaciers, new transport hubs are opening up, such as the NSR and NWP, which Russia and Canada seek to control, and where the United States and other countries insist that the NSR and NWP should have the status of international straits. Tensions are growing around the island of Svalbard, although the Paris Convention on Svalbard was signed in 1920, which implies Norway's sovereignty over the island, other countries have retained the right to conduct economic activities on the island, and Norway is trying to challenge this right in various ways. This paper examines hypothetical areas of cooperation and disagreements between stakeholders in the Arctic. The article describes the structure of relations between actors in the Arctic region, their problems and national interests, as well as cooperation in various fields. So countries that usually oppose each other in many regions can cooperate, sometimes even having contradictions in the Arctic, which ultimately allows us to see how many states can simultaneously converge and disagree on many issues in the Arctic. What makes this region unique in international relations.

Arctic states, NSR, NWP, Svalbard, Lomonosov Ridge, Continental shelf, Transport routes, Geopolitical interests, Convention on the Law of the Sea, International law