The following is a presentation slide deck, created using Canva, that accompanied my Master’s thesis defense (2025). My dissertation researched how climate change has been impacting the Arctic both ecologically and geopolitically.

My research began with an investigation of the historical and ongoing dominion over the Arctic—a region long viewed through colonial and extractive legal frameworks rooted in Western traditions that laid the foundation of viewing nature as property that is still ongoing. From early resource-driven expeditions and territorial claims by Russia, the UK, and the US to present-day geopolitics involving Russia, China, NATO, and others, the Arctic has remained a contested space shaped by growing ambitions for control and economic gain.

However, the Arctic’s ecological importance transcends borders. It regulates global climate, supports thousands of species—some found nowhere else—and sustains Indigenous peoples whose stewardship has preserved its delicate balance for generations. Accelerating climate change is rapidly opening waterways, altering global temperatures and ocean density, and increasing regional militarization and industrialization—threatening the region’s ecological integrity, human and non-human life, and both global security and environmental stability.

This presentation argues for a transformative legal and governance framework: recognizing the Arctic as a global commons and designating it a Common Heritage of Humankind. Drawing from successful models like the Antarctic Treaty and grounded in four foundational principles—(1) Global Commons, (2) the Common Heritage of Humankind, (3) the Do No Harm Principle, and (4) the Principle of Prevention. This approach centers Indigenous leadership, environmental stewardship, and international cooperation over territorial exploitation and conflict.

Please feel free to explore the slides to understand the urgent need for this paradigm shift and to consider the five actionable steps proposed toward just and unified Arctic governance.