Thawing permafrost creates risks to the environment, economy and culture in Arctic coastal communities. Identification of these risks and the inclusion of the societal context and the relevant stakeholder involvement is crucial in risk management and for future sustainability, yet the dual dimensions of risk and risk perception is often ignored in conceptual risk frameworks. In this paper we present a risk framework for Arctic coastal communities. Our framework builds on the notion of the dual dimensions of risk, as both physically and socially constructed, and it places risk perception and the coproduction of risk management with local stakeholders as central components into the model. Central to our framework is the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration. A conceptual model and processual framework with a description of successive steps is developed to facilitate the identification of risks of thawing permafrost in a collaboration between local communities and scientists. Our conceptual framework motivates coproduction of risk management with locals in the identification of these risks from permafrost thaw and the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies.

In November 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau stressed in his Minister of Defence Mandate Letter that “no relationship is more important to me and to Canada than the relationship with Indigenous Peoples. It is time to renew the nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples so that it is based on recognition of rights, respect, collaboration and partnership.” In order to assess the relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), this article is centred on the relationships between Indigenous reservists and non-Indigenous military. Based on an inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews and field observations conducted in 2016 and 2017 in Nunavik, Quebec, and Nunavut, this contribution studies the relationships between Indigenous reservists and military within Canadian Rangers patrols, and aims at demonstrating how those patrols reinforce understanding and dialogue between the different cultures. As a subcomponent of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve, Canadian Ranger patrols from Nunavik and Nunavut are mainly composed of Indigenous Rangers under the responsibility of non-Indigenous Ranger instructors. Providing a meeting place between Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals, the patrols enable cultural understanding and dialogue between different cultures. An analysis of the relationships within those patrols offers a particularly relevant illustration of Inuit issues and people in the Canadian Armed Forces, and more broadly in Canadian society.

The Arctic region has undergone major structural changes in the past few decades. Climate change and the emergence of the digital economy are two of the most fundamental pressures on the Arctic region. This book brings together experts to analyze how these two phenomena can be observed in the Arctic region, how they can pose threats to Arctic communities, and how they are deeply intertwined. Authors also present solutions and best practices to address these risks. This book intends look past traditional military and geopolitical understandings of the region to rather focus on environmental and technological threats. Permafrost thaw, data centers, subsea cables, quantum sensing, data centers, and disinformation are some examples of the chapters’ topics. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

All along this book, authors offer their analysis of how environmental and technological threats shape Arctic subregions, impacting infrastructures, both civilian (housing), commercial (airports, seaports), and technological (connectivity). Section I focuses on the Arctic environment, with (re)newned focus on the acceleration of permafrost thaw, protection of submarine cables, and the importance of an all-domain military approach. Section II analyzes infrastructure challenges linked to this “new” Arctic environment, providing examples within maritime, transportation, and digital-physical infrastructures. Finally, Section III provides results of research focusing on the emerging geopolitical and strategic threats posed by data routes, technological dependencies, cryptocurrency mining and disinformation. Applied to Arctic subregions, these emerging threats cannot be analyzed as a regional phenomenon. Indeed, long analyzed as a separate preserved region (apart from climate change), the Arctic subregions seem not to have resisted recent geopolitical developments. From the turmoil caused by Trump’s re-election to hybrid threats, “Southern” crises are now part of the daily lives of northern communities. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

Focusing on Arctic infrastructures and their challenges in this “renewed” Arctic environment, Section II provides examples linked to maritime and terrestrial infrastructures. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->

Arctic subregions have undergone major structural changes in the past few decades. Looking past traditional military and geopolitical understandings of these regions, this book focuses rather on climate change and on the emergence of the digital economy and its infrastructures as two of the most fundamental challenges for Arctic communities and inhabitants. To this end, Section I, on Arctic (re)newned environment, focuses on the acceleration of permafrost thaw, protection of submarine cables, and the importance of an all-domain military approach. Section II analyses infrastructure challenges linked to this “new” Arctic environment, providing examples within maritime, transportation, and digital-physical infrastructures. Finally, Section III provides results of research focusing on the emerging geopolitical and strategic threats posed by data routes, technological dependencies, cryptocurrency mining, and disinformation. Over the course of the book, authors offer practical insights into how to tackle these threats, lessons learned, best practices, and recommendations. By bringing together analyses from a range of authors from different interdisciplinary backgrounds, the book provides a holistic understanding of these phenomena. This volume will be useful for students, scholars, and researchers of Arctic studies, environmental governance, and environmental security. <!----> <!----> <!----> <!---->