What role do Civil Society Organizations play in Arctic governance?

Emilie Broek, Research Analyst at SIPRI, presented new research findings at the Arctic Frontiers Conference held in Tromsø, Norway.

Emilie Broek presented at the scientific session on “Adaptive management of rapidly changing Arctic ecosystems using interdisciplinary and system-science approaches”. Broek delivered the presentation “The Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in Arctic Governance.”

The SIPRI Insights paper is an output from the Mistra Geopolitics programme, co-written with Dr. Nicholas Olczak and Prof. Lisa Dellmuth from Stockholm University. Emelie, Nicholas and Lisa are all part of the Sustainable Oceans research team within Mistra Geopolitics.

Emilie Broek, Research Analyst at SIPRI presenting at the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromsø, Norway. Photo: Arctic Frontiers.

The investigation explores the role Civil Society Organizations play in the governance of the Arctic, such as indigenous people organisations and environmental NGOs. In addition, the research examines what legitimacy beliefs these organisations have and how these can impact their participation in Arctic governance.

What is the role Civil Society Organizations play in Arctic governance?

Based on the research findings, Civil Society Organizations monitor the regional commitments made within the Arctic region, strengthen the implementation of policies, engage in various types of advocacy, support information sharing, and provide input during geopolitical crises.

Another role civil society organizations take is creating awareness of the importance of protecting both the Arctic environment and its inhabitants, which can lead to changes in regulation on renewable energy projects, commercial fishing, transport of heavy oil and protection of marine wildlife, to name a few.

Improving governance in the Arctic Council

According to a survey conducted in Sweden, members of Civil Society Organisations have the least confidence in Arctic cooperation compared to other stakeholders such as those working in public administration, research and political institutions.

“Although Civil Society Organizations engage in the Arctic Council, we found that this participation is sometimes passive and limited. Therefore, to increase the legitimacy of the Arctic Council it’s important to strengthen this participation and to build participatory ways to disclose information,” said Emilie Broek, Research Analyst at SIPRI and in the Sustainable Oceans team of Mistra Geopolitics.

Mistra Geopolitics researchers on Sustainable Oceans

SIPRI

Emilie Broek

Emilie Broek is a Research Assistant with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme. Her research focuses on international organizations and their responses to climate-related security risks. She is a part of Work Package 2 on Sustainable Oceans, working specifically on Project 2.3: Geopolitical Impacts on State and Stakeholder Views on Arctic Governance.

Stockholm University

Nicholas Olczak

Nicholas Olczak is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University. He is also an associate fellow of the Asia Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). His research interests include East Asian international relations, global governance and international cooperation on climate change, and constructivist theory.

Stockholm University

Lisa Dellmuth

Lisa Dellmuth is a Professor of International Relations at Stockholm University. Lisa is leading the Research School of Mistra Geopolitics. Her research focuses on legitimacy and redistribution in global governance, and global climate change solutions. She leads the 5-year research program GlocalClim (Glocalizing Climate Governance: The role of Integrated Governance for a Just and Legitimate Adaptation to Climate Risks) funded by the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (Formas).

Telephone:+46 8 161 076

Read the SIPRI Insight paper

More about the conference

Text by Ana Calvo, Communications Assistant, and edited by Ylva Rylander, Communications Officer at SEI.