The Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement: Text, Framing and Logics

Abstract

The 2011 ‘Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic’ (henceforth SAR Agreement) is the first instrument of hard law produced by the eight states of the Arctic Council. While the agreement ostensibly addresses search and rescue related issues for the Arctic region, it is capable of being understood in a variety of legal, political and cultural contexts. Three elements are teased out in particular – the SAR Agreement as a legal policy document, as indicative of evolving Arctic international relations, and as indicative of particular geopolitical logics. As the paper concludes, however, the SAR Agreement has not been entirely free of political intrigue.

Arctic geopoetics: Russian politics at the North Pole

“…For the time being, retrospective analyses and the current state of the art highlight the amicable cooperation in the Arctic Council and its achievements in fostering scientific cooperation, for instance, on the extent and effect of climate change in the area (Bloom, 1999;Humrich, 2013;Knecht, 2016;Koivurova, 2010;Koivurova, Keskitalo & Bankes, 2009;Larsen & Fondahl, 2014;Pedersen, 2012). From the perspective of international law, there is very little to worry about as state action takes place in the confines of the nomos set by the Law of the Sea (Byers, 2013;Wood-Donnelly, 2013). The existence of potential oil and gas resources identified by the US Geological Survey in 2008 does not necessarily translate into actually existing stocks (Keil, 2014).…”

“…The different positions share the common denominator that Russia is a ‘great power’, while each positions holds different connotations on what constitutes such power and what policies follow (Hopf, 2005: 26). Hopf’s analysis of the 1990s identifies a centrist discourse as dominant, which emphasises family ties to Europe and, broadly, an adherence to international norms that makes the issue-specific cooperation in the Arctic Council and joint initiatives such as the search and rescue agreement plausible (Exner-Pirot, 2012; Wood-Donnelly, 2013). Viatcheslav Morozov similarly holds that Russian foreign policy is ‘obsessed with identity’ (Morozov, 2009), giving rise to a pragmatic realpolitik that seeks to emphasise the uniqueness of Russia.…”

“…Individually, but also in cooperation, Arctic countries 1 have invested hundreds of billions of US-dollars in infrastructure projects that include roads, railway lines, ports, ice-breaker capacity, energy as well as faster internet connections (Conley, 2013; Staalesen, 2016). Through the Arctic Council, states have laid the legal foundations of cooperation on marine oil pollution and on search and rescue missions (Arctic Council, 2011, 2013a; Wood-Donnelly, 2013). In the Ilulissat Declaration (2008), states bordering the Arctic Ocean confirmed their commitment to international law, which is generally considered to prevail in the region (Byers, 2013).…”