ABSTRACT
The changing landscape in the Arctic – both environmentally and politically – requires more than ever the stability and foreseeability based on resilient common norms and multilateral institutions applicable in the Arctic. The increase in the admittance and participation of Observer states and organisations in the Arctic Council is but one such signal of expectation. When examining the future design of Arctic legal orders from the perspective of actors being Arctic or non-Arctic, it becomes necessary, first and foremost, to clearly identify who the Arctic states are. An identification of Arctic states within the governing structure of the Arctic Council leads to a clear image of who are Arctic actors other than states. One category of Arctic non-state actors are the provinces and other sub-national units that actually conduct Arctic governance. The Arctic/non-Arctic dichotomy, however, can only highlight the actual and potential role of non-Arctic states and actors in the future of Arctic legal-order making.
