The Arctic as a Geopolitical Flashpoint

The Arctic as a Geopolitical Flashpoint

The Arctic is warming at nearly four times the rate of the globe, shrinking sea ice dramatically and reconfiguring the region. Those are the days when the far north was so far beyond reach; melting ice has opened up new sea routes and economic opportunities. Indeed, commentators speak of a “shrinking ice cap” and fresh “sea routes” to render the Arctic “strategically more important.”  Sea-ice maps, for example, show Arctic ice in late summer to …