This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Åtland, K. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Murmansk Initiative, and the Desecuritization of Interstate Relations in the Arctic

FFI/Analysis Division, P.O. Box 25, NO-2027 Kjeller, Norway, kat{at}ffi.no

In October 1987, during a visit to the Kola Peninsula, the Secretary-General of the Soviet Communist Party, Mikhail Gorbachev, launched a series of policy initiatives which ultimately came to mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War era in the Arctic. The move was aimed at transforming the northern part of the globe from being a sensitive military theatre to becoming an international `zone of peace'. This objective was to be achieved through the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in Northern Europe, restrictions on naval activities in Arctic seas, and the development of transborder cooperation in areas such as resource development, scientific exploration, indigenous people's affairs, environmental protection and marine transportation. This article analyses the contents of the Murmansk initiative, the context in which it was launched, the extent to which it materialized, and the degree to which it contributed to a normalization of interstate relations in the Arctic. In addition to being motivated by historical interest, the article aims at exploring the Copenhagen School concept of `desecuritization' and shedding light on the challenges and opportunities of turning security issues into non-security issues.

Key Words: Arctic • desecuritization • Gorbachev • Murmansk initiatives • Soviet Union

Cooperation and Conflict, Vol. 43, No. 3, 289-311 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0010836708092838


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?