Svalbard Storm Watch – How NATO’s New Nordic Members Can Strengthen the Protection of the Arctic

In times of shifting global power dynamics and intensified state rivalry, the Arctic, a region that is warming faster than any other place on Earth and with significant amounts of natural resources, is gaining ever more attention. Especially the archipelago Svalbard in the region has gained particular geopolitical and strategic importance. Svalbard’s unique legal status permits both permanent Russian settlements and Russian business operations in the archipelago. In many ways, events on and around Svalbard are thus a case in point for relations between Russia and NATO in the Arctic at large.

The briefing paper Svalbard Storm Watch – How NATO’s New Nordic Members Can Strengthen the Protection of the Arctic, by senior fellow Katarina Tracz, examines Russian activity on and around Svalbard and situates it within today’s broader geopolitical landscape. It analyses the implications of Russia’s intensified aggression on Svalbard on Sweden and Finland in particular and offers policy recommendations on how these two new NATO members can adapt to the new security situation in the Arctic and contribute to the Alliance’s defense there.

Katarina Tracz is senior fellow at Stockholm Free World Forum and a security and defense analyst and strategic communications adviser. She has wide experience of foreign and security policy analysis, focusing particularly on NATO and transatlantic affairs. She is an active contributor to the debate on foreign and security policy in Swedish and international media, and has published several reports, articles and OP-EDs in major Swedish and International publications. She is currently running her own consultancy firm. Previously, she has held positions as, amongst others, Director of the Stockholm Free World Forum, Marshall Memorial Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and International Research fellow at The McCain Institute for International Leadership.