Journal of World-Systems Research
Journal of World-Historical Information
Vol. 27 No. 2 (2021): Summer/Autumn 2021 /
The Evolving Arctic in the World-System
Zachary Lavengood Charles University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2021.1042
Keywords: Arctic, Climate Change, Shipping, Resources
Global climate change's continuing effect on the Arctic has brought about a fundamental shift in the region's identity as it becomes an ever more active area in the world-system. Economic opportunities such as new shipping routes and a bounty of natural resources that were hitherto ice-locked are becoming accessible as the pace of climate change quickens, garnering increasing attention from actors around the world-system. This article explores the new geopolitical and economic realities of the Arctic through the lens of world-system analysis by examining the region's budding role in the world-economy and emerging economic opportunities, its unique core-peripheral nature, and its potential to spark a regional hegemonic rivalry between NATO and a Sino-Russian partnership. This article aims introduce the evolving Arctic to world-systems studies and promote further research on the region using the theoretical framework.
Zachary Lavengood, Charles University
Zachary Lavengood is an Area Studies PhD. candidate at Charles University's Department of North American studies where he is completing his dissertation Arctic Partnerships: Geopolitics of the Forming Powerblocs in the Far North. His research interests include Arctic and outerspace geopolitics, the rise of China, and international development.
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