October 13, 2025

On the Issue of Periodization of the US Arctic Policy

Key Points

The study proposes a periodization of US Arctic policy based on strategic document analysis.
It identifies five distinct stages, with the Cold War and geopolitical warming as key transitions.
Qualitative characteristics for each stage are detailed, providing context and insight into policy evolution.
This framework aids understanding of the complexities within the multipolar world affecting current Arctic policy.

Abstract

Since the United States acquired Alaska, its Arctic policy has changed more than once. This makes it useful to construct a periodisation of US Arctic policy based on changes in its priorities. Based on the analysis of US strategic documents, relevant laws and legal acts, the article proposes the author’s periodization, which identifies five stages — from the “preparatory” stage (1857—1945) and the “Cold War” period (1945—1987) to the geopolitical “warming” of US Arctic policy after M. Gorbachevs Murmansk initiatives and the collapse of the USSR (1987—2014), the formation of US policy towards the “global Arctic” (2009—2014) and the formation and changes of this policy in the context of the formation of a multipolar world (2014 to the present). Qualitative characteristics of each of the five phases are given.

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