The place of the concept of ‘human security’ in the strategies of the Arctic countries

Saint Petersburg State University, 7/9, Universitetskaya Emb., 199034, Saint Petersburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: m.lagutina@spbu.ru

Abstract

This paper is devoted to determination of the place of the concept of ‘human security’ in the modern strategies of the Arctic countries. The article examines the formation of the concept of ‘human security’, the features of human security in the Arctic, as well as the place of the idea of human security in the modern Arctic policy of Russia. Today, the Arctic, being a ‘zone of peace and stability’ in the categories of traditional security, faces a complex of new challenges and threats related to ‘human security’. The author analyses the strategic documents of the eight Arctic countries with a view to reflect the ideas of human security in them. Special attention is paid to human security’s issues in the AZRF. In conclusion, the author points out that none of the strategies of the eight Arctic countries explicitly mentions the term ‘human security’. But at the same time, some elements of this concept are undoubtedly noted in strategic documents: the priority of most Arctic countries is economic security and environmental security, while the rest of the components of human security are found only in certain countries’ strategies.