Sweden’s New Arctic Strategy

The Oden is Sweden’s icebreaker turned research vessel

Sweden’s new Arctic Strategy was released by Foreign Affairs Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard on June 1. In her remarks she stated: “Sweden’s role in the Arctic is a matter of both foreign and domestic policy. The new Arctic Strategy reflects the serious security situation and increased international interest in the region….Sweden’s geographical location also enhances the security policy link between the Baltic Sea, the High North and the Arctic. It also offers increased opportunities for cooperation with other Arctic countries in NATO.”

The Arctic Institute’s analysis of the new Strategy by Nima Khorrami, published in High North News, noted that “The document openly discusses military alliances, names Russia as the primary security threat, and frames everything from polar research to indigenous knowledge through the prism of national security.” This is seen by Khorrami as a decisive break from “its largely laissez-faire approaches of the past.” The author praises the Strategy’s acknowledgement that “local resilience constitutes a form of security.” This is a point which was also emphasized by Swedish Ambassador to Canada, Her Excellency Signe Burgstaller, at our April 16 panel discussion on Arctic Security.

The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat praised the Strategy’s emphasis on polar research, especially the role of Swedish icebreaker Oden as “one of the world's leading infrastructures for research in the polar oceans.”

The Oden , built in 1988, was originally intended as a true icebreaker for cargo ships going through the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland, but was converted into a research vessel that has been used in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. In 1991, it was the first non-nuclear surface vessel to reach the North Pole. The Oden has been involved in many scientific expeditions in Canada, including undersea mapping along with the Canadian Coast Guard heavy icebreaker the Louis S. St-Laurent.

Sweden’s emphasis on research as a strategy is in direct contrast to the United States’ current planned dismantling of previously established ocean research capabilities. It is encouraging to see that Sweden and Canada have been working together on this crucial issue.