Arctic governability : A wicked problem?

Abstract

The world’s interest in the Arctic region has been rising as well as the awareness of climate change and disappearance of ice cover in the region. From being seen as a ‘frozen desert’ the Arctic region is nowadays perceived, as a place for cooperation among Arctic states and other actors, from non-Arctic states to non-governmental organizations, like WWF and Greenpeace. The governance system in the region is unique, but it is challenged at different levels and within different dimensions. The governing system in the region faces different problems, which it has to deal with. Some of problems, such as climate change, are considered to be wicked, as their definitions as well as solutions are highly dependent on views and interests of ones who are looking at them. All this affects the governing process of the Arctic, which is, in fact, a wicked problem itself. The overall aim of this work is to investigate on governing the Arctic being a wicked problem by answering following questions: 1. What are the properties of Arctic governance that make it a wicked problem? 2. What are the challenges and properties of Arctic governance, which lower governability of the region? The thesis determines wickedness of the Arctic governance and highlights properties of elements of the governance system of the region, which contribute to this wickedness.