ASTK12581U SEMINAR: Climate Change, Asian interests in the Arctic and developments in Greenland

Volume 2013/2014
Content

The course will consider what Greenlandic actors can do with their overall ambitions of economic development and, eventually, statehood facing several big challenges stemming from internal and external pressures in the changing geopolitical context of the Arctic:  Which ideas and instruments of governance, economic resources, nation building and state formation is available for Greenland in the present circumstances?

Ongoing climate changes have catapulted Greenland into the proclaimed role of the messenger of the rapid changes going on in the Arctic as a warning of future challenges globally. At the same time, Greenland is a gate to the opportunities and challenges that the Arctic offers a growing world population with growing demands for resources that the climate change is reported to make easier accessible. The course will discuss scenarios for development in Greenland within the context of developments in the Arctic and in relations between Greenland and Denmark by focusing on dynamics in three areas of drastic change: Continuing climate change, growing Asian interests in the Arctic together with the resulting governance implications for Greenland.

Climate change means global warming, and in the Arctic this means melting ice. Both the ice sheet in Greenland and the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean are envisaging accelerating melting development - perhaps very soon beyond the tipping point – and this is seen as a threat to living resources and humans in the Arctic. However, the melting ice is said to make natural resources more accessible, hence enhancing possibilities for extractive industries in a vast territory. The melting ice also makes new trans-arctic shipping routes more feasible, hence increasing shipping possibilities along the already navigable Northern Sea Route and through the Northwest Passage. Recent ice data show that the Arctic might become seasonal ice free during the next 10-35 years. The first part of the course will provide a closer look into the research on mechanisms behind climate change and the impact of climate change on Greenlandic society.

Asia and Asian interests in the Arctic concerning research, access to resources, political influence etc. in the Arctic are not new but have been much more exposed in recent years, culminating in the acceptance of the applications on the position as ‘permanent observer’ at the Arctic Council ministerial meeting in May 2013 of China, India, Japan and South Korea. This part of the course will provide a closer look into the salience and character of these Asian interests in the Arctic and a closer understanding of the diverse character as well as common features of the Asian countries concerning political systems, economic structures, regional culture including the importance of “Asian values”.

Governance and governance implications in the Arctic of climate change and Asian interests forms the third part of the course. The melting of sea ice in the Arctic opens the possibilities of more extractive industries and more shipping in the Arctic but also prospects of increasing security implications for Greenland. Therefore, from the perspective of a comprehensive concept of security, there is a risk that these developments will create problems for traditional security and not least for human security at different levels in society. Locally, search and rescue (SAR) operations will pose governance problems that cannot be handled locally or even nationally and, hence, need regional or global attention. Nationally, the security policy implications of the prospects of massive Asian investments will create tensions with Denmark on Greenland’s self government setup. Regionally, the Arctic Council needs to transform into a strong international organisation making legally binding decisions in a forum encompassing a number of diverse participants spanning from the five coastal states in the Arctic, the eight member states, a number of permanent participants including representatives of Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) and other indigenous peoples organisations, and now permanent observers from non-Arctic state in Europe and Asia, as well.

The structure of the course follows the above mentioned aspects of developments and themes of debate:

  1. Introduction to climate change narratives and Greenland
  2. Climate change and the Arctic
  3. The geopolitics of the Arctic and Arctic societies and peoples
  4. The “world of ice” (‘cryosphere’)
  5. Potentials for extractive industries
  6. Potentials for new shipping routes
  7. Asia and Asian interests in the Arctic
  8. Security aspects of Arctic developments
  9. Arctic regional and national level governance challenges and instruments
  10. Conclusions
Learning Outcome

The course objective is to enable students to demonstrate knowledge of the main strands of the scientific literature, reports and white papers, to apply theories and analyse one or more cases comparing single aspect or/and asses the interactions of several aspects, and be able to make informed, analytical evaluations of the developments, present situation or/and future perspectives.

Reading list

A curriculum will be made available electronically for participants in the course consisting of a selection of 1200 pages from the following list of literature.

You can find the curriculum here:
http:/​/​polsci.ku.dk/​uddannelser/​summer_schools/​bilag/​Climate_Change_Asian_interests_in_the_Arctic0702.pdf/​

Submission of seminar assignment: Monday 1 September
Announcement of passed/not passed: Wednesday 1 October
The course will consist of lectures, discussions, written assignments and student presentations as well as presentations by invited guests or visits to relevant institutions.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Exam
  • 79
  • Preparation
  • 168
  • Total
  • 275
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written examination
Reading of course literature and active participation in class discussions is mandatory. Each student must present one written assignment (max. 1500 words) during the course, comment on other students' presentations in the class, and submit one final assignment (max. 5500 words) no later than 1 September 2014. Individual or small-group supervision is provided in connection with classes.
Marking scale
passed/not passed
Censorship form
No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
The Seminar is graded "Passed/Not Passed" by the lecturer