A workshop on Restoring Arctic Exceptionalism was convened by The Arctic Institute and Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington, DC from 11-12 June 2025. Prof. Paul Arthur Berkman was an invited speaker in the panel about US-Russia Arctic Cooperation and Security, which was among the six workshop panels:
- Risks and Opportunities for America from a Melting Arctic
- US-China Arctic Cooperation and Security
- US-Russia Arctic Cooperation and Security
- Arctic Council, Nordics and Indigenous Peoples Cooperation
- Governance on Geo-engineering
The workshop also included a keynote on the “Transformation of the Arctic by Climate Change” by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R- AK).
Published observations from the workshop included considerations “to position the Arctic as a vector for peace” that could extend even to Ukraine, noting connections with the high-level forum of the Arctic Council, which began “pausing” its operations immediately after the 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Additionally, “rather than focusing solely on types of conflict or security, it may be more important to clarify what kind of peace of is at stake”.
Can the Arctic remain as a “pole of peace” – as it has since end of the Cold War when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the concept in 1987 – perhaps even as a source of common-interest building today with incentives for Russia to end the Ukraine conflict?
