Event Date: October 28, 2016 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Location: FSS 4004, 120 University Private

Presented by CIPS and the Arctic Yearbook

Free. In English. Registration is not required. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

The Arctic is often imagined as vast, icy, remote, and exotic. But for the past several decades it has been the site of some of the most innovative, and arguably most effective, regional governance in the world.  Uniquely, it has been a space of positive co-operation between Russia and the West; has provided for and benefited from an unusual amount of policy influence from indigenous groups and other non-state actors; and has focused on comparatively progressive goals in environmental protection and sustainable development.  What lessons can regional Arctic governance provide to international policy studies?

As the Arctic Council turns 20 this Fall, the timing is right to assess the current governance regime for the Arctic region: is the Arctic Council a forum for policy-shaping or policy-making? What economic, political, security, and environmental visions are being articulated for the Arctic region, and who determines them?  How effective or necessary is regional-level governance anyways, and what is the relationship with global and local levels?

Join this prestigious panel of Arctic experts to explore the upcoming issues and challenges facing the Arctic region, beyond the dominant narratives of climate change, the race for resources, or a new Cold war.

Speakers include:

• Lawson Brigham, Distinguished Fellow in the Center for Arctic Policy Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and a Fellow at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s Center for Arctic Study and Policy
• Heather Exner-Pirot, Strategist for Outreach and Indigenous Engagement, University of Saskatchewan and politics commentator, Eye on the Arctic
• Lassi Heininen, Professor of Arctic Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland
• Alexander Pelyasov, Head of the Center for the Arctic and Northern Economies at the Council for the Study of Productive Forces (SOPS), Moscow, and Professor at the State Polar Academy, St. Petersburg
• Joël Plouffe, Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI)

*Please note: Photos and/or video recordings of this event may be posted on the CIPS website, newsletter and/or social media accounts.