Giving priority to a multidisciplinary approach, the author clearly shows that global warming confers a new dimension of international politics on the arctic world. Certainly, shipping routes still seem far from permanent. But, still freshly etched out, they are already leading to concerns which are upsetting State relations. It is a question of five neighboring countries – Canada, Denmark, the United States, Norway, and Russia – and wherever there is a question of China or the European Union, the wealth of the fishing industry and raw materials arouses serious tensions. As for the exponential growth in tourism, this sector presents an equally serious case.
Thierry Garcin does not limit himself to an inter-state analysis. He also discusses non-state figures while putting the situation of native populations into perspective. In the future, one will have to expect this “overlay of cultures” to rise about thirty.
Thierry Garcin, Géopolitique de l’Arctique, Paris, Economica, 2013, 186 p., [Bibliography and analytical index. This work also contains 16 maps and 20 boxed texts].
