In his best-selling novel, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harrari offered a compelling take on modern issues and how we as a collective humanity are behaving in their wake and preparing for the future. He discusses nationalism and its current rise as a driving rhetoric and ideology in governments across the world. While the novel was written in 2018, the rise of nationalism continues. (1) Harrari delves into modern issues and how ‘we’ as a collective humanity are responding to them. Harrari gives a very logical synopsis of this issue arguing that as governments become increasingly nationalist the existential crisis humanity is facing is global in nature, and cannot be dealt with through a nationalist lens. (2)
Deep ecological change caused by the climate crisis is impacting every citizen on earth regardless of your passport. One of the most prominent shifts brought about by environmental change is happening in the Arctic.
In Arctic politics, nationalist behaviour deters from the previous status quo of Arctic cooperation. Global crises’ and changes such as the melting Arctic should not be addressed through nationalist responses as it risks diminishing the cooperation and knowledge of Indigenous people living in the Arctic. This is written from the perspective of a Canadian, a Southern Canadian. If I were any farther South I would likely be drinking Dunkin’ Donuts and complaining about my newly elected President. I am a settler in Southern Canada, so my perspective on this issue is not first-hand as the life I have lived is undoubtedly extremely different from the lives of those living in the North.

The climate crisis and international turmoil have created a massive shift in Arctic politics. After the end of the Cold War, there was new hope and attention placed on the Arctic. Efforts were focused on sustainability initiatives, weapons control, and cooperation. In the Cold War, the Arctic was an area of high tension which hindered environmental protection and research. So the rise of Pan-Arctic cooperation after the end of the Cold War was a welcome change which brought new interest and hope for the Arctic. (3) This new hope has now been replaced by fear and insecurity and a loss of Pan-Arctic cooperation after the political tensions caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine halted many inclusive Arctic conversations. There are fears stemming from the other Arctic states [who are all NATO members (4)] regarding Russia’s improvement of their military, and immense investments in their Arctic territories.
The Arctic has been of particular interest to Russia and the Kremlin as the area accounts for 10% of their GDP, and 20% of their exports. (5) The extraction of natural resources (namely oil and gas) is the driving influence of Russia’s Arctic development. (6)
However, the emphasis on economic development in the Arctic does not negate from the fact that they are also strengthening Arctic military capacity. (7) Russian interest in the Arctic has deepened tensions between Arctic states as has the fact that China declared itself a near-Arctic state and has been involving itself in research and interest in potential new shipping routes in the Arctic. (8) While China is not involved in Arctic politics through military threat, their involvement can arguably threaten economic, scientific, and political spheres. (9) This shift towards tension has been a long time coming, but while most of us speak of the Arctic as an abstract place of unimaginably cold temperatures and polar bears, the Arctic is populated and the opinions and input of those that inhabit the Arctic cannot be ignored.
How International Arctic Interest Impacts Indigenous Populations?
Sometime in the next year, Canada will hold an election for our next Prime Minister. I have little faith in any Canadian party forming a government to do right by the Indigenous people of the Arctic. Climate change has melted the sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, and the Government of Canada has predicted that the arctic waters will be nearly ice-free in summer by the 2050s.(10) This is a chilling figure, not literally because Canadian winters are now so mild that it rarely snows (in Southern Ontario), but you get the idea. The decrease in sea ice makes the traditional hunting and harvesting of Northern Indigenous communities more dangerous and also leaves communities more exposed to waves and storm surges. Sea ice is essential to the existence of Indigenous communities such as the Inuit, and imperative to travel, culture, and everyday existence.
Nationalist rhetoric cannot be applied to the situation in the Arctic as it minimizes the self-determination of Indigenous peoples and their continued cooperation. As I mentioned, I am a Southern Canadian so my understanding of Arctic politics is purely theoretical and abstract rather than first-hand knowledge. Most Canadians live in the Southern regions, and less than one percent of the Canadian population live in the Arctic, which is 40% of our land mass. (11)
The voices of the (roughly) 150.000 people who live in Arctic territories are the ones that need to be included in Arctic politics; these are the voices that have lived experience in Arctic affairs, climate, and geography.
They are also the people currently feeling the impact of the melting ice and will have their personal lives and communities impacted by Arctic shipping and military developments. The importance of first-hand knowledge and self-determination is outlined in the Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Arctic Sovereignty, created by the Inuit Circumpolar Council. This declaration highlights that the Indigenous Inuit people who have lived first-hand expertise and feel the direct impacts of the changing Arctic should have a right to self-determination in Arctic decision-making. (12)
While mainstream international Arctic cooperation has shifted to fear, nationalism, and sabre rattling, Indigenous cooperation continues to build off of shared experiences, knowledge, as well as geographic and cultural proximity.

I will repeat a blatantly obvious fact, the colonial state of Canada has been terrible to Indigenous populations, which has caused generational trauma, a lack of proper infrastructure on reserves, and a variety of physical, mental, and social crises in Indigenous populations across Canada. The full extent of the suffering which occurred and continues to occur will never be fully understood by those who did not endure it. However, an attempt at an improved understanding of Canada’s colonial history was initiated in 2015 with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which worked to uncover the genocide and intergenerational trauma caused by residential schools* and Canada’s colonial history. (13) This is relevant because the findings of the commission helped to shape the subsequent Calls to Action which Canada has publicly committed to begin implementing as of 2015. (14) The Calls of Action hold the government publicly accountable to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Therefore, the government of Canada’s commitment to UNDRIP means that policies that impact Indigenous populations must ensure a “right to self-determination… right to autonomy or self-governance in matters relating to their internal and local affairs.” (15)
Viewing tensions in the arctic as simply power struggles between rival arctic states are ignoring the right to self-determination, and importance of Indigenous knowledge in arctic politics.
Indigenous self-determination is the only way forward in Arctic politics, their lived experience is more valuable than any theoretical or abstract knowledge of International relations. Placing more importance on the work, knowledge, and cooperation of Indigenous peoples of the Arctic can help minimize the real threats of nationalist Arctic pissing contests. Indigenous self-determination and emphasis on improving infrastructure in Arctic communities rather than nationalist Arctic behaviour will help to ensure that the changing political climate does not result in a complete catastrophe. The Climate Crisis and its impact on the Arctic is not an issue impacting individual nations, it impacts all Arctic nations and therefore cannot have a nationalist response that diminishes Indigenous cooperation and voices.
Bibliography
1- Harari, Yuval Noah. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2018.
2- Harari, Yuval Noah. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
3- Watt-Cloutier, Sheila. "Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice in the Arctic." Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, page 5/6, February 23, 2021. https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/02/23/indigenous-peoples-and-climate-justice-in-the-arctic/.
4- Gricius, J. "Policy Primer: NATO and the Arctic." North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network, June 2024. https://www.naadsn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/24_Jun_Gricius_Policy-Primer-NATO-Arctic.pdf.
5- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Russia in the Arctic: A Critical Examination." page 6, Last modified March 2021, Accessed January 13, 2025. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2021/03/russia-in-the-arctica-critical-examination?lang=en.
6- High North News. "Russian Investments in the Arctic Offer a Glimpse into Putin's Arctic Visions." Accessed January13,2025. https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/russian-investments-arctic-offer-glimpse-putins-arctic-visions.
7- Carnegie Endowment, Russia in the Arctic, 6.
8- Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "Canada's Arctic Sovereignty: A People-First Perspective." ,page 3/4, Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.cgai.ca/canadas_arctic_sovereignty_a_people_first_perspective.
9- North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN). Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine and Canadian Arctic Security: Perception, Will, and Leadership. June 28, 2024. https://www.naadsn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/24jun28-Russia-Invasion-Canadian-Arctic-PWL.pdf
10- National Defence and Security Network. "The Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine for Canada’s Arctic Security." June 28, 2024. Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.naadsn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/24jun28-Russia-Invasion-Canadian-Arctic-PWL.pdf.
11- Canadian Global Affairs Institute. "Canada's Arctic Sovereignty: A People-First Perspective.", page 5, Accessed January 3, 2025. https://www.cgai.ca/canadas_arctic_sovereignty_a_people_first_perspective.
12- Inuit Circumpolar Council. Circumpolar Inuit Declaration on Arctic Sovereignty. Accessed December 30, 2024. https://www.inuitcircumpolar.com/icc-international/circumpolar-inuit-declaration-on-arctic-sovereignty/.
13- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. "A History of Residential Schools in Canada." Last modified November 1, 2021. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1450124405592/1529106060525
14- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, "A History of Residential Schools in Canada."
15- United Nations General Assembly. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Article 4. Resolution 61/295, adopted September 13, 2007. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html.
16- Watt-Cloutier, Sheila. "Indigenous Peoples and Climate Justice in the Arctic." Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, February 23, 2021. https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2021/02/23/indigenous-peoples-and-climate-justice-in-the-arctic/.
*What is a Residential School?
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