Negotiations to create an International Arctic Science Committee have increased public awareness of issues involving the Arctic. This book provides a timely review of the situation from a social, political and human standpoint and provides an in-depth study of contemporary global controversies involving the Arctic. The authors describe the military, political and socio-economic conflicts emerging in the far north and consider the interests of the four major groups involved - the military, industry, natives, and environmentalists. Possible solutions are discussed, exploring US policy options, the role of non-governmental bodies and opportunities for international cooperation in the Arctic. This book offers a comprehensive and systematic framework for understanding and responding to conflicts in the Arctic and will be essential reading for all interested in, and concerned with, this important region of the earth.

"...a comprehensive and easy-to-read primer on conflicts of interest and uses in the Arctic along with potential paths to national and international dispute resolution...As a valuable contribution to the literature on environmental dispute resolution and as a possible textbook on Arctic affairs, the book is worth the price." David VanderZwaag, The Northern Mariner