| This paper explains the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) and related agreements by examining how the eight circumpolar states perceived their interests. It shows that, at the beginning of the negotiations, the Realist security, economic, and political interests of the Nordic countries, Canada, and the Soviet Union accommodated circumpolar cooperation, while those of the United States did not. Going beyond Realism allows consideration of how states, influenced by interest groups, came to perceive environmental problems in the Arctic as a matter of national interest. Such groups, including environmental groups, indigenous peoples, and the scientific community, enlarged states' perceptions of the bargaining set to create a zone of agreement for the AEPS. The groups, especially scientists, were also important in defining the content of the agreement. As well, largely through the influence of the scientific community, the US redefined its interests so that a circumpolar agreement on the environment was perceived as desirable. |
