Actor participation in the Arctic Council, 1998–2025: a new data set

Anna Ivanova

doi:10.33265/polar.v45.12979

Anna Ivanova School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33265/polar.v45.12979

Keywords: Arctic governance, observers, attendance records, international cooperation

Abstract

The Arctic Council, once the primary forum for Arctic governance, has been facing significant disruptions since 2022, raising questions about the future direction of regional cooperation. Stored at the Arctic Data Center in the US, the ArcticPart data set covers over 25 years of participation in 171 meetings of the Arctic Council, including Ministerial, Senior Arctic Officials and selected working, expert and task force groups. It offers the most complete and systematically organized record of actor participation from 1998 to 2025. This data set provides opportunities to analyse the evolution of Arctic governance, including changes in member state participation after 2022, the shift of meetings to the working group level, the changing role of observers and non-state actors in maintaining cooperation and the effects of chairship rotation.

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