The Geopolitics of Svalbard

This working paper analyzes the geopolitics of Svalbard, an archipelago of 400 islands and skerries with an area of 61,022 km² and a population of 2,993 in the Arctic Circle. It is dominated by military and security policy issues and the territory's special status under the Svalbard Treaty. The official name of the territory is Svalbard (cool coast), but for the region, the name of the main island, Spitsbergen, is also used. Overall, the Svalbard Treaty was successful and supported the peaceful coexistence of the inhabitants. The development of international law over the past 100 years, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) with the establishment of 200-mile zones as Exclusive Economic Zones and claims to continental shelves resulted in different interpretations of the Svalbard Treaty. However, the treaty itself is also a source of discussions, particularly when it comes to fishing and military use. For Norway and NATO, the presence of the Russians and the Chinese represents a special situation, while for the Russians, Svalbard lies directly in the passage of the Northern Fleet into the Atlantic. Russia was the first country to use the provisions of the Svalbard Treaty to establish its presence, which still exists today. China has a presence in Ny-Ålesund with the Yellow River Research Station since 2004 and is expanding its Arctic activities. From a security perspective, the SvalSat ground station for satellites and the deep-sea cables are important. Due to the increasing tensions in international relations, the stability of the region is now a subject of geopolitical discourse.