Arctic Governance Model Study

With the aggravation of global warming, Arctic has become the focus of theinternational society. There is also a growing international appreciation of theimportance of Arctic governance, which is related to the peace and development notonly of the region but also of the world. Starting from the political realities present,this dissertation attempts to examine the essence of Arctic governance, evaluateexisting arrangements, reveal its characteristics and put forward an alternative modelfor international governance "self-governance".In its literature review, this dissertation finds that general discussions of Arcticgovernance typically center on the solution of the problems and the proposals forArctic governance. However, there is a lack of study that encompasses the multilevelanalysis of existing structure. Focused on the practices of Arctic governance in threedifferent perspectives (global, regional, and bilateral), this dissertation examines thepresent governance system of the Arctic in order to outline its core characteristics.This dissertation makes an analysis in three perspectives, that is, global, regionaland bilateral. In global perspective, there is no comprehensive Arctic regimecomparable in scope and content to the Antarctic Treaty. The United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) only provides a framework and guidelinefor Arctic. In regional perspective, although the Arctic Council has no regulatoryauthority, it has achieved considerable success in generating policy-relevantknowledge about the Arctic and coordinating the behaviors of the Arctic countries. Inbilateral perspective, the interplay of the Arctic countries has a history of successfulefforts to revolve the disputes. Building on the preceding analysis, it is clear that theArctic governance system is under the concert of the Arctic countries and exclusivefor the out-Arctic states and international organizations.Furthermore, this dissertation examines Arctic governance system from theviewpoints of size, interest, power, and norm. The author finds that none of theexisting theories are effective enough in explaining the Arctic governance. As an application of Public choice theory, the author put forward an alternative model forinternational governance, which is "self-governance"."Self-governance" refers to thatthe relevant actors exercise common governance over the relevant issue withoutintervention from any authority outside. It is a practice process that actors achievecommon selection through self-organization and equal consultation. The concept ischaracterized by sociality, practicality, and process.This dissertation identifies one possible way to understand the Arctic governancesystem, which, at least for the present author, seems a viable one. The dissertation alsoputs forward an alternative model for international governance and gives the basis forthe future argument.