ABSTRACT
What are the political and economic contexts that explain the current engagement of Asian actors in the Arctic? What are the roles that Asian states have played so far in the Arctic legal order-making and what challenges do they pose? I argue that there is a fundamental difference between how the existing Arctic states and Asian states/actors see Arctic governance: Arctic states take a more liberal internationalist approach while Asian actors incline to be realists. Realists place a higher priority on the balance of power, diplomacy and the formation of alliances, rather than norm- and rule-making in international institutions. Arctic states expect a greater role of Asian states in international normative and institutional frameworks, particularly within already existing institutions such as the Arctic Council. However, from the Asian states’ point of view, they are only willing to play a role if rule- and norm-making efforts serve their political/economic goals and where they clearly see the value of making mutually acceptable norms and codes of conduct in pursuing their economic security. The “rise” of Asia has brought new challenges to the Arctic and beyond, and for the Arctic legal order-making it has entered the era of “contested multilateralism”.
