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Living and working in the Barents Region, the book’s contributors from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat look at Arctic developments and relations with Russia from a regional standpoint.
With extensive experiences from cross-border cooperation in the region, they present practically-oriented and experience-based analysis and reflections, as well as recommendations on international cooperation and regional developments.
The book is edited by Atle Staalesen
Download individual chapters:
(For preface, introduction, epilogue and recommendations, download the full version from the link above)
Chapter 1:
The Barents Cooperation and the delimitation line
Author: Rune Rafaelsen
In connection with the Norwegian Storting’s debate and subsequent approval of the Treaty concerning Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean on the 8th February 2011, all debating members of parliament underlined that this is «a historic day». How come that all the MPs, from the right-wing Progress Party to the Socialists (SV) in their speeches praised the deal with the same argumentation?
Chapter 2:
Barents roadmap towards visa-freedom
Author: Thomas Nilsen
This chapter discusses the latest border traffic developments, the differences in visa policies between Russia, Norway and Finland, investments in border infrastructure and the unique initiatives taken in the Barents Region to ease cross-border traveling.
Chapter 3:
Modernization and cooperation
Author: Atle Staalesen
Foreign relations have become a key instrument in Medvedev’s grand modernization project. Having the full prerogatives of foreign policy, the president is actively seeking to transfer gains made in international relations to his home ground, an area where his powers are far more restricted. Symptomatically, he told his ambassadors that «we should more efficiently use our foreign policy instruments for solving domestic issues, for the modernization of our country, its economy, social sphere and partly its political system – for the resolution of the very various tasks which our society is confronted with». Russia must change, the president argues, and it will have to do so in cooperation with foreign partners.
Chapter 4:
A multitude of projects made possible
Author: Margrethe Alnes
On regional level, the Barents Cooperation is based on a broad collaboration in the fields of culture, business, competence, environment, health and indigenous peoples. The cooperation is characterized by its multitude of practical people-to-people project activities, which involves many NGOs and individuals. Since 1993, the Norwegian government has spent about five billion NOK (€630 million) on the Barents Cooperation. Of this, about 500 million NOK (€63 million) has been spent on regional Norwegian-Russian projects.
Chapter 5:
Children and youth as a priority
Author: Laila Dalhaug
Over the last years there has been a positive development in regional youth cooperation. Young people today constitute an important target group within all parts of the Barents Cooperation, both on the national inter-governmental level and on the regional level. This high focus on youth issues is embodied by several regional cooperation programmes, among them the program for Children and Youth at Risk (CYAR) and the Barents Regional Youth Program.
Chapter 6:
Military cooperation in the High North (English version)
Военное сотрудничество на Крайнем Севере (Russian version)
Author: Trude Pettersen
Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, it is the natural resources and industrial potentials, and not exclusively military strategic interests, which are at the core of international politics in the Arctic. Over the last few years the High North has increasingly become a topic in international relations. It is on this background that Russia and Norway in 2010 signed the agreement on delimitation of the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. Russia’s willingness to share disputed waters with Norway can be seen as an illustration of the radically changed situation in the High North. What does the delimitation deal mean for cross-border military relations in the region? What is the basis for today’s military cooperation in the Barents Region?
If you would like a printed version of Barents Review 2012, please send an e-mail to [email protected] and we will send it to you.
Download also Barents Review 2010
