Germany´s Security Interests in the Arctic

The aim of this Ph.D. project is to analyze Germany´s interests in the Arctic region, to identify Arctic related policies, and to give an indication of what a more comprehensive German Arctic policy could look like. So far no explicit Arctic policy has be en formulated. This comes as a surprise when considering the more active engagement of European partner countries like France and the United Kingdom or more distant actors like China or South Korea that have articulated strong interest in the Arctic and a re in the process of formulating coherent Arctic policies. The absence of a German policy is even more puzzling keeping in mind that Germany´s energy security is closely linked to Norwegian and Russian oil and gas reserves in the Arctic. Germany has a str ong interest in shipping activities along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), too, as its growing trade with East-Asia could significantly profit from the NSR. Moreover, as a country that promotes the fight against global climate change it has a strong interest in the most sustainable economic development of the Arctic, as a changing Arctic environment has consequences for other parts of the globe, too. Finally, as the Arctic is in the neighborhood of continental Europe any military developments in the region c ould have negative consequences for European and German stability. Thus for various security reasons Germany should have a strong interest in Arctic affairs. Yet, the government only recently started a process of formulating a more coherent Arctic policy, thereby acknowledging the growing importance the Arctic plays in its strategic calculations. The first question to be answered is therefore: Why is Germany intterested in the Arctic? An additional question would be: Why has Germany not yet developed an o wn Arctic policy? Based on the analysis of German interests and existing non-explicit Arctic policies the project aims as well to give an indication of what a more comprehensive German Arctic policy could look like.