Polar Diplomacy and Arctic Council Cooperation Amid Geopolitical Fragmentation

Background: The suspension of normal Arctic Council operations involving Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, alongside continued scientific and environmental cooperation challenges through 2023 and 2024, has tested the durability of polar governance frameworks historically insulated from broader geopolitical tensions among member states. Aims/objectives: This study examines how Arctic Council member states have adapted cooperative mechanisms to maintain functional environmental and scientific collaboration despite the exclusion of Russian formal participation. Method: A qualitative analysis of Arctic Council working group reports, member state policy statements, and interviews with polar governance specialists was conducted covering the period of institutional disruption and adaptation. Results: Findings indicate that scientific working groups maintained limited functional cooperation through indirect channels, while broader council activities requiring full consensus remained substantially curtailed, exposing the institution's vulnerability to geopolitical spillover despite its historically cooperative mandate. Non-Arctic observer states increased engagement, seeking influence amid the resulting institutional vacuum and strategic uncertainty. Conclusion: The research concludes that Arctic governance has proven more vulnerable to broader geopolitical disruption than commonly assumed in earlier scholarship emphasizing polar exceptionalism. Developing parallel cooperative mechanisms that can function independently of full council consensus is recommended to preserve essential environmental monitoring capacity during periods of political fragmentation among member states.

Keywords: Arctic Council, polar diplomacy, geopolitical fragmentation, environmental governance, Russia sanctions