Is the Arctic Council Really the “Preeminent Intergovernmental Forum for the Arctic Region”?
Since 2019, the Arctic Council claims to be “the preeminent intergovernmental forum for the Arctic region”. This wording raises the question about the nature and the importance of the Arctic Council. We address these two aspects in order to assess the veracity of this claim, twenty-five years after the establishment of the Arctic Council. While it appears that the expression “intergovernmental forum” no longer captures the complex nature of the Arctic Council, the Council does manage to position itself as a key player on Arctic issues.