Will the Arctic be a new Mediterranean? Transformations in the polar geographies of power
Will the Arctic be a new Mediterranean? Transformations in the polar geographies of power

Summary/Abstract: This paper draws upon recent statements by Arctic scholars concerning theneed to equip ourselves with geographically sensitive tools in order to understand thetransformations underway in the northern polar space in regard to power politics. Itargues that Geopolitics is heuristically capable of grasping both the roles played by theArctic as well as the consequences of its opening and transformation. However, in orderto do so Geopolitics as an heuristic approach must be refined and the spatial dynamicthe Arctic responds to must be properly grasped. Inspired by the analyses claiming thatthe Arctic space as a whole makes up a Mediterranean Sea, this paper first proceeds tounderstand what, from a geopolitical point of view, a Mediterranean is; secondly, itcheck whether or not the spatialization processes underway and emerging in the Arcticare turning this area into a Mediterranean. It is concluded that although it is improperto claim that the Arctic as a unitary space is a Mediterranean Sea, the heuristicapproach of Geopolitics can nevertheless single out and understand several spatialaspects and dynamics of undoubtedly growing importance that are played (and at play)by (and in) the Arctic space.

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