Un paradigme arctique de sécurité ? Pour une lecture géopolitique du complexe régional de sécurité.

Résumé Fr En

La question de la sécurité en Arctique fait régulièrement la une des journaux. Ancien épicentre stratégique, la région peine à se départir de cadres d’analyse traditionnels qui ne prennent pas en compte ses mutations récentes : changements climatiques, bien sûr, mais aussi ouverture progressive aux activités, intégration aux grands réseaux mondiaux… Ces mutations viennent largement renouveler les enjeux de sécurité dans la région. Alors que les sciences politiques et les Relations Internationales dominent les études de sécurité, un pan de littérature commence toutefois à émerger, s’attachant à remettre le territoire au cœur de l’analyse. Ce travail vient alors souligner la pertinence d’une analyse géopolitique de la sécurité dans la région, à la lumière des enejux actuels.

Security in the Arctic is regularly mentionned as a major issue. It was a strategic hotspot during the Cold War, but inherited analitycal frames tend to be less relevant. Terrestrial boundary issues are now limited to the small unhabited rock that is Hans Island, maritime boundaries are being negociated under the legal frame of the Montego Bay Convention. Yet, new security challenges are emerging now that the region is undergoing major transformations. The progressive opening-up of the ocean opens new perspectives, both economic and political. From climate change to a progressive economic integration to global networks, security issues are therefore to be completely rethought. Analyzing litterature tackling security issues in the Arctic, this paper aims at understanding what are the main drivers to srategic shifts in security policies in the Arctic region. Following a brief historical overview of security issues in the region, the paper analyzes security discourses in the region through the main analytical frames of Security studies. It finally underlines that even tough security studies usually belong to the realm of International Relations and Political Science, however, some recent publications are starting to put forward a territorial approach to security issues. This paper would like to underline the relevance of a geopolitical approach regarding the Arctic region specifically, given the major changes that the region is going through currently.