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Introduction
What drives US policymaking in the Arctic? Though external factors have always contributed to US Arctic policies, climate change and the growing interest in the region it has helped fuel, particularly among the great powers, are having a larger impact on US domestic policy decisions than in the past. International dynamics such as great power competition and enhanced cooperation have played a role in the country’s approach to Arctic policy since the US became an Arctic state in 1867 with the purchase of Alaska from Russia (Nilsson, 2018). During the Cold War, Washington projected its power in the north as a counterweight to USSR operations. When new opportunities became available in the post-Cold War environment, the US’s initial support for the Arctic Council and subsequent involvement in Council activities helped foster decades of successful international cooperation to address environmental issues in the region. US Arctic interests, whether federal, Alaskan, corporate, or societal, have been subject to international pressures for some time. However, the unparalleled impacts of climate change in recent years are fundamentally altering the way people live in the region, opening up new prospects for resource exploitation and trade, creating new challenges, and drawing in new players seeking opportunities, with Russia, China, and other Asian trading states the most visible among them.
Recognising that the president and his appointees define how the US will address the challenges and opportunities provided by the external environment, there is a need to better understand how presidential personality and preferences relate to climate change and increasing international engagement in the Arctic among great powers such as Russia and China to impact Arctic policymaking. To achieve this greater understanding, it is critical to first understand internal US Arctic policy processes and the actors supporting them. This article is among the first to provide a detailed discussion of the internal workings of the US policymaking apparatus and the major actors involved in Arctic policymaking. By examining how US Arctic policy is formed, we establish a foundation upon which to better recognise how Presidents Obama and Trump have reacted to, and been influenced by, unprecedented global changes in the region when pursuing Arctic policies. Observations from the analysis can then be used to illustrate how the interactions between a president...