正在出现的北极安全挑战[20140325].pdf

m a r c h 2 0 1 4 P o l i c y B r i e fEmerging Arctic Security ChallengesBy James Kraska and Betsy BakerJust 4 million people inhabit the Arctic half of them in Russia.This population is spread throughout 15 million square miles an area four times the size of the United States.Russia and Canada occupy 80 percent of the land above the Arctic Circle,whereas the Nordic states account for 16 percent and the United States just 4 percent.Americans understanding of the Arctic is often limited to the small community of Barrow,Alaska,population 4,000,which is nestled along the ice-crusted coastline on the Chukchi Sea.In this paper,however,we argue that U.S.interests in the region are far-ranging and that environmental changes mean the region will grow increasingly important to U.S.security and economic interests.While U.S.territory makes up only a small slice of the expansive Arctic landmass,the United States will have to increase its leadership role in the Arctic community to respond to growing challenges.Because the multidimensional American interests in the region are often congruent with the interests of the other Arctic states,greater U.S.leadership in Arctic security issues would be