America in the Arctic - by Mary Thompson-Jones (Hardcover)

About the Book

America in the Arctic offers a timely and compelling case for why the United States must deepen its commitment to a region threatened by climate change and geopolitical rivalry.

Book Synopsis

As climate change accelerates, the Arctic has become a frontline of global competition. Melting ice, rising temperatures, and swelling seas have made remote regions at once newly accessible and rife with new dangers. Vladimir Putin's Russia has embarked on a substantial military buildup in the Arctic, and China has also turned its attention northward. The United States, however, has only recently begun to reestablish its Arctic presence after many years of waning influence.

America in the Arctic offers a timely and compelling case for why the United States must deepen its commitment to a region threatened by climate change and geopolitical rivalry. Mary Thompson-Jones surveys past and present U.S. relations with the Arctic lands: Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia. She traces the history of the U.S. presence in the far north from the purchase of Alaska through the Cold War, arguing that lessons from the past should inform America's relationships with its Arctic neighbors today. At its best, U.S. Arctic policy balanced security interests with residents' needs and international cooperation on environmental and regional issues. In recent years, many policymakers scrambling to reassert U.S. leadership have framed their goals solely in security terms. Thompson-Jones argues that climate change now poses the greatest challenge, calling for a new approach that is inclusive of all the Arctic's inhabitants. Bringing together national security expertise and historical insight, this book charts a course for American Arctic policy in a warming world.

Review Quotes

America in the Arctic is a compelling and insightful exploration of the United States' historical, geopolitical, environmental and national security relationships in the Arctic region. The author's description of how geopolitically the region has transformed from a zone of peace into a zone of competition and how economic and national security interests intersect with climate change is relevant in understanding the history and potential future of the Arctic region. As a former US Ambassador to Norway, in particular, I found the chapter on Norway and its relationship with the US and the Arctic policies of each country very perceptive, interesting and right on point. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in understanding the history of the Arctic region and the many issues that it raises for American foreign policy.--Barry White, former U.S. ambassador to Norway

America in the Arctic is an essential guide to the new Cold War that will make the Arctic a highly contested region among global superpowers. It is also a needed wake-up call to new threats caused by climate change and weaponized by authoritarian governments.--Derek Shearer, former U.S. ambassador to Finland, and Chevalier Professor of Diplomacy, Occidental College

In America in the Arctic, Thompson-Jones brilliantly charts America's past, present, and future in the High North. This book is a compelling testament to the importance of U.S. engagement and a must-read for policymakers. As Thompson-Jones aptly asserts, we have "an Arctic destiny."--Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky, former undersecretary of state for global affairs (2001-2009)

Mary Thompson-Jones makes a convincing argument that the United States must reengage in a region threatened by the dual risks of climate change and degrading security and that the best approach is a broad-based effort, going beyond Alaska to include regional gateway states such as Maine to forge stronger economic and diplomatic ties with our Arctic partners. The opening up of the Arctic is the equivalent of the discovery of an unknown ocean--and how we navigate this new reality will have enormous long-term ramifications for the United States and the world. This book amounts to a finely crafted chart that can help guide us though the rough seas ahead to a peaceful and prosperous future in the region.--U.S. Senator Angus King

Thompson-Jones's fresh perspective, strengthened by her years of diplomatic experience, makes America in the Arctic especially valuable to anyone seeking to understand the past and present of the Arctic region and its geopolitics. She weaves together diplomacy, national security, economics, the environment, and other key issues into a detailed and seamless account that is both readable and insightful. This is a must-read!--Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center

About the Author

Mary Thompson-Jones is a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and a former foreign service officer who attained the rank of minister counselor. She is the author of To the Secretary: Leaked Embassy Cables and America's Foreign Policy Disconnect (2016). Her diplomatic experience spans more than two decades serving in the Czech Republic, Canada, Guatemala, Spain, and Washington, DC.