A role for NATO in the Arctic?

When thinking of designing a twenty-first century security architecture for the Arctic, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) emerges as a natural candidate to provide the security structure the Arctic requires. ¹ Fifty percent of the circumpolar region is covered by territory of NATO member nations and four of the five Arctic littoral nations are NATO members. Moreover, the NATO Treaty requires that all parts of Allied territory “unite their efforts for collective defense and for the preservation of peace and security”. ² Whereas the NATO Treaty limits its southern boundary to the Tropic of Cancer, there is no limitation to NATO's northern area of responsibility. ³