The Polar Age from a Global Perspective: Different Disciplines, Multifaceted Perspectives

The Arctic Region is becoming increasingly accessible. The "learned helplessness" attributed to the region during the Cold War years has changed over time, with the economic potential of resources replacing militarization. This change has been embodied in the concept of the "Polar Age." In the quarter-century since the end of bipolarity in international politics, "New Areas" have emerged, and "New Perspectives" have begun to be voiced. The driving force behind this is environmental change, global warming, and the easier and cheaper access to natural resources resulting from the breakdown of ice masses. Meanwhile, due to climate change, glaciers are melting at an accelerating rate, eliminating the customary ice-covered Arctic landscapes and fundamentally altering the traditional living conditions of indigenous peoples. With globalization also entering the region, the struggle of large-scale transnational holdings to access resources and their competition to exploit these resources continues to increase. After the degradation of the ecosystem and the global reduction of forest lands, the climatic crisis observed in the Arctic for many years has now reached its most impactful dimension among the current crises of the international community.

(From the Promotional Bulletin)