The post-Cold War era has seen an upsurge in interest in Arctic affairs. New international Arctic regimes have been created at the global and regional level, covering a range of functional areas. From a Norwegian point of view, environmental degradation, nuclear safety, natural resources and health have become as important as strategic issues. Norway has, in particular, given priority to international collaboration aimed at maintaining stability in north-western Russia. This project discussed how various international collaborative arrangements have contributed to solving specific problems, mainly in the fields of the environment, natural resources and health.

This major FNI project was a strategic institute program (SIP) financed by the Research Council of Norway. An important component of the project was a doctoral dissertation which focused on energy relations between Norway, The United States and the European Union, with a special emphasis on the Barents Sea area as an energy region. US and EU policies towards energy in the High North as well as the implications for Norwegian High North policy were investigated.

Project period: 2003-2009