This article seeks to identify and analyze the most important political issues at stake with respect to the ongoing process regarding the future management of living resources in the high seas of the Arctic Ocean. Through assessing the potential for future commercial utilization of marine resources in the Arctic Ocean and analyzing the differences between the interests of engaged stakeholders in the process, the article seeks to answer whose interests and norms seem to most strongly influence the unfolding political processes and preliminary outcomes. The article concludes by identifying how the five Arctic coastal states have retained the upper hand in this process through skilled political entrepreneurship, the devotion of necessary resources and the political commitment of their respective governments.