The chapter provides an overview of the international relations (IR) literature on Arctic politics from the later years of the Cold War until today, from "the age of the Arctic" to the "scrable for the Arctic". Despite the largely empirical orientation of this literature, we catch glimpses of all the three major theory traditions in IR: realism, institutionalism and constructivism. Many contricutions to the literature are explicitly or implicitly situated in the institutionalist school, by their preoccupation with international regimes and the potential for cooperation rather than conflict among the Arctic states. In recent years, debates have centred around the question whether a scramble for the Arctic is indeed underway, and whether there is a need for an overarching Arctic treaty to supplement the existing Law of the Sea.