In and of the Arctic: Security in Iceland

Introduction

In this chapter we will discuss Iceland and its position towards and in the Arctic. Iceland is a 103,000 sq km island in the North Atlantic (see Figure 4.1). Its population numbers under 400,000 people, two-thirds of whom live in the southwestern corner of the island in the capital region, leaving the rest of the island sparsely populated. As a Nordic country, Iceland shares the basic values of providing its citizens with social security and healthcare. It is, nonetheless, a less stable democracy than its larger neighbours and its politics are characterized as adversarial rather than consensus-based (Jónsson, 2014). This difference is also reflected in its welfare system, which shares some characteristics with the Anglo-Saxon model rather than the Nordics (Eydal & Hrafnsdóttir, 2017). Iceland's economy is heavily dependent on fisheries and, more recently, tourism. The state has for years been at the top of the list for the world's most peaceful countries, and remains without a military and has no intelligence service of its own. Iceland's peacefulness and distance from military conflicts is perhaps the reason why even discussing security has remained a taboo, which in some ways makes Iceland the odd one out among the Nordic countries.

The chapter will start by addressing what the Arctic means for Iceland, and its relevance in domestic and foreign policy, before moving on to specifically address Arctic security and its meaning for Iceland. This is followed by an exploration of the impact of great-power politics on Iceland. While Iceland is not a European Union (EU) member, it is thoroughly involved with European policies, specifically through its membership of the European Economic Area (EEA). Iceland is, however, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and very reliant on the alliance for the provision of its state/military security. The interactions between the two regional collaborations will therefore be addressed in detail. While Iceland is a member of the Arctic Council (AC) and has established itself as an actor on the Arctic stage – for example through the efforts of former president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson's annual Arctic Circle conferences – the island country has not always identified strongly with the region. In fact, it is only in the 21st century, specifically after the departure of the United States from the Keflavik military base, that Iceland has started to turn away from its transatlantic focus towards the Arctic, perhaps as a response to the United States turning its attention elsewhere. We conclude by summarizing the role of the Arctic for Iceland in the current era and attempt to forecast its importance and value for the country in the next decade.

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