THE ARCTIC COUNCIL AND THE RUSSIAN SPHERE OF INFLUENCE: DECONSTRUCTING THE RUSSIAN SOFT POWER AND ECONOMIC AMBITIONS IN THE ARCTIC

Abstract

The Arctic Council (AC) is the single credible institution for collaboration in the Arctic, and the growing geopolitical tensions could disrupt the Council’s functions, as military affairs fall outside the scope of the Council’s jurisdiction. The Russian Federation (RF) holds a significant stake in the High North (HN) due to its extensive coastline and arctic population. Russia’s Arctic policy is rooted in a blend of economic ambition, sovereignty assertion, and development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Notwithstanding RF’s hard power potential, Moscow projects itself as a proactive partner for cooperation in the HN. The paper argues that despite militarisation, Russia’s AC engagement reflects a preference for soft power to advance economic goals, though Ukraine-related tensions risk undermining this strategy as it portrays the RF as an aggressor in international politics. Moscow’s exclusionary sphere of influence (SOI), rooted in Cold War politics, resists non-Arctic state involvement. The principal question that this paper seeks to address is why Russia asserts its sovereignty in the HN context while simultaneously favouring the use of its soft power strategies. The paper applies a thematic literature review and qualitative analysis of AC statements to draw its inference that Russia showcases soft power through environmental initiatives and inclusion of Indigenous Communities (IC) in the AC. The paper analyses the Russian ambitions in the Arctic amid the heating geopolitics and tries to substantiate its central objective to explore the Russian soft power politics in the region. The paper also evaluates various dimensions of Russian interests in the Arctic and its behaviour inside the AC. Furthermore, the paper navigates through the idea of a Russian SOI through a constructivist perspective. The growing importance of the Arctic and the Russian hegemony in the region necessitate a comprehensive analysis of the AC and its relation with the RF.