Germany as Arctic security actor: New guidelines for German Arctic policy under more difficult conditions

Helge Adrians, Michael Däumer, Tobias Etzold and Michael Paul

No 6/2026, SWP Research Papers from Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Abstract: The Arctic and the Arctic-North Atlantic region are gaining in geopolitical relevance as Arctic shipping routes and resources become more accessible. Germany should step up its political, military and economic engagement in this part of the world. A successful German Arctic policy requires closer cooperation both with Arctic states and with partners in the EU and NATO, Germany's stronger engagement with security policy and the improved integration of civilian and military capabilities. The Arctic-North Atlantic region is to be regarded as a single strategic space and viewed in the context of European security. For its part, Germany should actively contribute to the stabilisation of this space and help preserve the fragile balance in the Arctic. A German Arctic strategy should not only reaffirm principles such as those of a rules-based order and multilateralism; it should also seek to protect them by means of clearly defined political, economic and security policy instruments. In the long term, a German Arctic strategy must go beyond the 2024 guidelines and identify concrete steps to safeguard German interests in the region. It must also establish clear priorities, outline political and security-policy measures, mobilise resources and both generate and demonstrate overall capacity for action. Germany's new Arctic policy should be more consistently embedded in a policy framework for Europe as a whole. By ensuring close alignment with EU foreign and security policy and playing an active role in the shaping of the EU Arctic strategy, Germany can represent its own interests more effectively and at the same time contribute to Europe's capacity to act in the region.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:swprps:340159

DOI: 10.18449/2026RP06

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