The Russian threat in the Arctic is heating up: what is to be done?

Russia is rapidly expanding its military, economic and political footprint across the Arctic, treating the Northern Sea Route, Svalbard and the North Atlantic as theatres in which to erode international law, threaten NATO and coerce European states. The authors argue that the UK, leveraging its Arctic proximity, maritime strength and leadership of the Joint Expeditionary Force, should spearhead a tighter regional security architecture, harden the defence of Svalbard and the Bear Island Gap, and combine legal, military and economic tools to constrain Russian revisionism.