Norway-Russia Disaster Diplomacy in the High North and Arctic

This project investigated Norway-Russia relations on, for, and around Svalbard regarding how dealing with disasters may be used more in the Arctic and the High North to foster links between Norway and Russia. The focus was on disaster diplomacy which examines how dealing with disasters does and does not impact wider cooperation. For Svalbard, Norway-Russia interactions regarding disasters were examined after 1991, so for the post-USSR period. The results show that Norway-Russia relations have been, and currently are, influenced minimally by disaster diplomacy related to Svalbard. Many prospects exist in case parties wish to actively pursue them. Yet this represents only the formal levels of disaster governance and of diplomacy. At informal levels around Svalbard, particularly people-to-people contacts between Norwegians and Russians, people's perceptions indicate potential disaster diplomacy. Informality appears to be producing disaster-related cooperation through trust, proximity, and interest in local activities. Theories on informality for disaster diplomacy and disaster governance were developed based on the Svalbard research along with analysis and application to daily and yearly Svalbard life. The differences and overlaps between formal and informal actions for disaster diplomacy represent an important outcome from Svalbard for Norway-Russia Arctic-related interactions.

Outcomes 1. The first disaster diplomacy study for Norway, including the first for Svalbard, and the first disaster-related study for Barentsburg. 2. Improved understanding of preventing and dealing with disasters collectively and cooperatively for Svalbard. 3. Significant international research collaboration across Norway, Russia, and the UK, including supporting two early career researchers, one woman and one man, while bringing together universities, industry, and a Russian research institute.   Impacts 1. How to use informality and connections across nationalities for preventing and dealing with disasters for Svalbard. 2. Why Svalbard does not typically contribute to Norway-Russia disaster diplomacy at the Oslo-Moscow levels, although plenty happens with the people living there. 3. Description of how much more is needed for Arctic humanitarianism planning, such as a cruise ship disease outbreak or sinking, a Longyearbyen blackout, or an oil or chemical spill or fire.

Disaster risks are expected to continue increasing across the Arctic as more people move to the region, as more infrastructure is built, as economic activities expand, and as the environment continues changing. With these changes, fears over disputes and conflicts have been voiced including with respect to Norway-Russia relations. Svalbard epitomises the situation, challenges, and opportunities with regards to disaster-related conflict and cooperation. One approach for examining cross-border disaster-related activities is disaster diplomacy. Disaster diplomacy examines one aspect of disaster-politics interactions: how disaster-related activities (disaster risk reduction, disaster response, and disaster recovery) do and do not impact diplomatic collaboration. Violent and non-violent conflicts are covered, seeking cooperation modes through disaster-related work. Major gaps exist in disaster diplomacy work regarding the type of disasters expected in the Arctic, such as nuclear incidents, resource conflicts, and health-related events. This project will contribute to filling in these gaps by using Norway-Russia relations on, for, and around Svalbard as a case study, examining how and why disaster-related activities might or might not be used more in the Arctic and the High North to foster links between Norway and Russia. The method involves archival research, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews. The focus will be on understanding, and determining strengths and gaps in, laws, policies, and formal and informal mechanisms and competencies relevant to disaster-related activities involving Norway-Russia interactions for Svalbard. The project design will support early career researchers, expand existing knowledge, provide original thinking and data, and foster scientific renewal between Norway and Russia. Dissemination will cover scientific papers, scientific presentations, popular science talks, social media posts for the general public, and user engagement.