A new northern security - Environmental and Human Security in the Arctic - page 53

actors. On the other hand, this is due to a high capability in applying
advanced technologies to address social problems. Following from this,
sustainable development indicates human security and reminds us of the
importance of implementing accepted policies on sustainability and envi-
ronmental and human security by international organizations and other
external political structures of, and for, the North.
Conclusions
In the early twenty-first century there are both aspects and factors of tra-
ditional security and those of comprehensive security in the circumpolar
North. Among the main aspects and factors of the current security-politi-
cal situation, traditional security is primarily indicated by state sovereignty
and national security guaranteed by the military. This includes international
cooperation for stability and peace in the context of some intergovernmental
organizations, such as the European Union and NATO, and either common
or national military activities like patrolling of strategic nuclear submarines
in northern seas. Further, there are national interests, like, for example, eco-
nomic welfare, prosperity and competitiveness, access to natural resources
and, finally, energy security. Correspondingly, among the aspects and fac-
tors of comprehensive security emphasized by peoples and regional and local
actors, there are, for example, environmental degradation, impacts of climate
change, regional development and sustainability, human health and well-
being, and devolution of power and innovations of governance.
If oil and natural gas drilling mostly deal with energy security and tradi-
tional security, then the transportation of heavy oil and liquid gas mostly deal
with environmental security. Correspondingly, the impacts and uncertainty
of climate change indicate new aspects of global security, either naming
it environmental or human security. The claim that climate change has a
relevant and important security dimension is also proved by the fact that cli-
mate change might also threaten national security and state sovereignty, and
thus appear as a traditional security-political conflict. The issue is, however,
neither defined nor interpreted in a traditional way and thus needs a new
approach to security and an understanding of comprehensive security, includ-
ing aspects of both environmental security and human security. This will also
raise the above-mentioned question of how to define, or redefine, security
from the point of view of a region, which would be a relevant part of a new
northern security. Finally, this approach needs a holistic, geopolitical picture
and requires not only multi-disciplinary research, international cooperation
and global governance, but also implementation of comprehensive security
and a perception of a global, 'borderless' space.