Abstract

ALONSO TRABANCO, José Miguel. The Russian mission Arktika 2007 and its implications for the world power balance In the XXIst century. CONfines relacion. internaci. ciencia política [online]. 2009, vol.5, n.9, pp.85-101. ISSN 1870-3569.

The melting of the polar ice caps plus the high energy prices have opened a window of opportunity for Russia, who seeks to obtain a large portion of Arctic territory in order to increase its national power in the geopolitical, economic and strategic spheres. These ambitions are clearly shown in the Russian mission called Arktika 2007, launched to collect supportive evidence of Moscow's claims. If such ambitions are indeed accomplished in the long run, that could meaningfully help Russia regain its status as a great power. Nevertheless, the United States and Canada are not eager to see Russian aspirations fulfilled. However, it is still too soon to predict how far they are willing to go.

Keywords : Arctic Circle; Geopolitics; power equilibrium in the 21st century; Russian Federation; Arktika 2007.

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