The report shows that the 9.000 respondents to the survey in the Arctic states no longer adhere to the traditional view on the Arctic as an arena of the Cold War. Issues like environmental protection, health care, education and scientific cooperation rnak much higher within the concept of security than the military.

The survey moreover shows strong support of the general public for the Arctic Council. Especially Canadians regard the Arctic Council as a means to maintain peace and stability in the Arctic and to enhance cooperation. Yet, the repondents were not united over the question as to whether military security should be covered by the Arctic Council. Knowledge about the Arctic Council, however, is greatest in Canada and the Nordic Countries, while amongst the US respondents only 2 percent had heard about its existence.

The Nordic Countries are the favoured amongst those for increased cooperation, the survey shows. While the United States favour Canada as the most desireable partner in Arctic cooperation, Canadians as well as Russians prefer the Nordic Countries, while the Nordic Countries themselves prefer the same. The European Union is not favoured a partner in Arctic cooperation. Merely Sweden and the US see 'Other Europe' as a third choice for increased cooperation.

All Arctic respondents except for Russians, see China as the least favoured partner in Arctic cooperation. Here, Europe ranks on the second and third position for several Arctic respondents. Russians, however, see the US as the least favoured partner, while Scandinavia and China rank of position two and three respectively.

To download the full report, please click here.

For more information on the survey, please contact:

Neil Desai
Director, Programs and Communications
Munk School of Global Affairs
University of Toronto