From the introduction 'The Arctic is hot again in America and Europe':
The growing importance of the Arctic as an object of study for social scientists is clearly measurable by the enthusiastic responses we received to our call for articles. In order to cover as wide a spectrum of issues as possible and to accommodate the large number of articles submitted, the articles are presented in two parts and two separate issues of International Journal—autumn 2010 and summer 2011.
The first part, published in this issue, raises the inevitable and central question of governance and institutional arrangements, and seeks to expose the views and perspectives of the key state players, namely Canada and Russia. It then frames the Arctic debate in terms of cooperation versus conflict, and in terms of common versus individual interests.