Analysis of the Environmental Policy of the Non-Arctic States in the Polar Region: The Case of Baltic States

The chapter is a comparative analysis of the non-Arctic states’ interests in the region. The theory of securitization is used as a methodological approach. To reveal the topic, the authors set several tasks. First, the context is studied—the international environment in which the Baltic states should integrate for the successful realization of political interests—for which a historical retrospective of political processes in the Arctic is given. The factors influencing the dynamics of the political crisis are identified and the search for ways of settlement is shown. Second, the mechanisms of formation of the Arctic ecopolitics of the Baltic states are investigated and the tools for its implementation outside the effective international regime are identified as key factors in the emergence of a crisis in ensuring environmental cooperation beyond the polar circle. With an aim to conduct the study, the (de)securitization of the environmental agenda in the political discourse of the Baltic states was studied and an analysis of the influence of political discourse on the formation of Arctic ecopolitics was undertaken. The authors’ hypothesis is that regional ecological cooperation depends on the ability of the parties to engage in dialogue, which is expressed at a low level due to the political and economic components of the analyzed crisis.