Transportation infrastructure and security implications in Alaska’s North: the case of the expanded port in Nome

Brandon M. Boylan () and Jeremy S. Speight ()
Additional contact information
Brandon M. Boylan: University of Alaska Fairbanks
Jeremy S. Speight: University of Alaska Fairbanks

Journal of Transportation Security, 2025, vol. 18, issue 1, No 11, 21 pages

Abstract: Abstract Over the past few decades, scholars have expanded the conceptualization of security beyond traditional nation-state and military definitions to include a variety of dimensions related to people and communities. Concurrent to these developments, the Arctic has endured a host of environmental and geopolitical changes that have had diverse and significant security implications for the region. We draw insight from the human security and securitization literature to inform a framework to identify security challenges and tradeoffs by level and type. Levels include the local, regional, national, and international, while types include physical, military, economic, environmental, and cultural security. The framework then serves as a lens to identify security challenges in Alaska’s North and analyze some security tradeoffs of new transportation infrastructure developments in the region by focusing on the case of the current expanded port project in Nome, Alaska. The case shows how the attempt to address some security concerns could elicit other challenges. To minimize the potentially detrimental impacts of new transportation infrastructure projects, leaders should consult a wide range of stakeholders who offer diverse security perspectives.

Keywords: Alaska; Arctic; Infrastructure; Port; Security; Shipping (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12198-025-00301-2 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jtrsec:v:18:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s12198-025-00301-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/12198

DOI: 10.1007/s12198-025-00301-2

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Transportation Security is currently edited by Andrew Thomas

More articles in Journal of Transportation Security from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().