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Newsletter from the editor
Encounters in the North
From Svalbard to the Iron Ore Line, Russian oil plans and art in times of crisis: Here are the most important news stories from and about the Arctic.
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Svalbard is once again in the global spotlight, this time with a Russian vessel under arrest in Barentsburg.
The arrest also raises questions about the significance of the Svalbard Treaty, but researchers say that the treaty does not grant Russian actors immunity.
At roughly the same time, we observed Russian fishing vessels crossing Svalbard cables several times, unrelated to the matter otherwise, but worth noting.
Russia is investing heavily in the Arctic and is opening a giant oil project.
In addition, Russia is investing 400 billion dollars in Arctic transport.
Infrastructure becomes security policy when a single bridge can isolate an Arctic community on the border with Russia. You can read more about this in commentator Arne O. Holm's travel letter from Norway's Far East.
It is also about the lack of investment in critical infrastructure in Holm's commentary on the important Iron Ore Line, which links the High North together.
Life in the north is more than security policy. It is also about people, art, culture and the desire to live there.
What is the role of art in a time marked by crisis and war? This is what we at High North News and the Arctic Philharmonic wanted to explore in an entirely new and exciting collaboration, with Holm at the helm.
You can read this and much more in High North News. Please share and follow us on social media.
Kind regards, Editor-in-Chief Trine Jonassen
