BETWEEN COMPETITION AND COOPERATION: ECONOMIC STRATEGIES OF LEADING STATES IN THE ARCTIC

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic role of the Arctic region in the context of intensifying global competition between the world's leading powers. It emphasizes that the region's accessibility, driven by both climate change and technological development, has significantly intensified international attention to the Arctic as a strategically important area. It is noted that economic interests in the region are concentrated around access to significant natural resource reserves, including oil, natural gas, and rare earth elements, opportunities for developing new trade routes, as well as ensuring energy and logistical security. In this context, the strategic economic approaches of the USA, China, and the Russian Federation are examined, which demonstrate ambitions to increase their presence in the Arctic through infrastructure development, intensification of investment activities, as well as participation in Arctic institutional mechanisms and international organizations. Specifically, key areas of their economic interests have been identified: the expansion of Arctic shipping, which involves the use of new maritime routes, such as the Northern Sea Route and the Transpolar Route, which significantly reduce the distance between Europe and Asia, decreasing logistical costs and ensuring faster access to markets. States pay considerable attention to the development of port, logistical, and energy infrastructure. Special attention is given to new forms of geo-economic competition, in which states with Arctic and non-Arctic status compete. It is concluded that the formation of a new configuration of economic interaction in the Arctic is occurring against the backdrop of increasing militarization of the region, changes in international legal approaches to control over maritime spaces, and the need for strategic planning adaptation by both national governments and international structures, taking into account long-term challenges and threats. It is determined that economic priorities in the Arctic are increasingly integrated into the broader context of countries' geopolitical ambitions, which requires an interdisciplinary approach to studying the situation, combining economics, international law, security, and environmental policy.