Frontiers in International Relations

This book examines the functions of conferences within Arctic governance, as a third dimension between sovereign states and formalized cooperative arrangements. It analyzes conferences against the background of three main empirical topics. Firstly, the functions of conferences for different actor groups, both Arctic rights holders and emerging non-Arctic state actors claiming stakeholder status. From this, the book also analyzes how conferences contribute to altering the actor composition of Arctic governance as a whole. Secondly, conferences as agenda setting arenas – whether conference activities can contribute to influencing the broader agenda in the region, and conferences as arenas for agenda setting – whether participants can bring with them topics that are picked up and brought into other processes. Thirdly, the book considers the space for conferences within broader governance architectures, as links between units in the regime complex.
The book further presents an in-depth case study of the two largest conferences on Arctic issues: the Arctic Frontiers and Arctic Circle Assembly. It illustrates the diverse functions conferences can have for elements within a broader governance system, beyond serving as meeting places and networking arenas. Therefore, it is a must-read for researchers, students, and policy-makers interested in a better understanding of Arctic governance in particular, and International Relations in general.

This book provides a pre-history of Russia's war on Ukraine and Europe’s relations to it, illuminating the deep roots of the EU’s neighbourhood crisis as well as the migration crises it created in the last decade. To do so, the book employs a new and innovative framework that allows for a comprehensive, yet nuanced analysis of borders and a more cogent interpretation of their socio-political consequences.

Analyzing three main sites in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), the book challenges conventional critical wisdom on EU bordering in the Schengen zone, at its external frontiers, and in its Eastern neighborhood. In so doing, it sheds new light on the post-communist transitions as well as the contemporary politics of CEE. It also shows how European Union bordering and its relations to identities and orders created great benefits for many Europeans, but also hindered the lives of many others and became self-defeating. This book is a must-read for scholars, students, and policy-makers, interested in a better understanding of Critical Border Studies (CBS) in particular, and International Relations in general. It will also appeal to anyone interested in CEE or wishing to get a deeper understanding of Russia’s war and the fight for Europe’s future.