Reviews of My Books

Breaking the Ice: From Land Claims to Tribal Sovereignty in the Arctic (Lexington Books, 2008)

• Professor Barry M. Gough, Wilfrid Laurier University, Choice Reviews Online, February 2009. Recommended: Graduate students, faculty, professionals. “This history of the Alaskan and Canadian arctic breaks new ground with its contemporary narration and analysis of the past three decades of political developments and with its rich findings based on documentary and Web research. Not a work in comparative history, this is more of a parallel treatment of government actions in regard to the norths of the two countries and the responses of the indigenous peoples ... to develop Native self-sufficiency and to solve the persistent problems of land claims by various First Nations, including Inuit, Inuvialuit, and Gwich'in. This large account will guide future researchers and government agents.”

• Shelagh D. Grant, Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America (Douglas & McIntyre, 2010): "A detailed narrative of Inuit and northern Amerindians' struggle for control over their traditional lands and rights to self-government in Alaska and northern Canada."

• Mary Guss, University of Arizona (UA) NativeNet, "The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act: Bibliography."

On Thin Ice: The Inuit, the State, and the Challenge of Arctic Sovereignty (Lexington Books, 2009)

• Matt Wiseman, "MattWiseman.ca," Department of History, Wilfrid Laurier University, May 31, 2013: "In arguing that history has not served the interests of Arctic peoples especially well, Barry Zellen’s On Thin Ice (2009) addresses contemporary Indigenous relations with academic integrity. Zellen’s examination focuses on Inuit peoples throughout the Arctic, and although it is not restricted to the Canadian North, it addresses issues of land claims and self-government specifically related to Canada’s past. ... On Thin Ice is a thorough examination of current issues facing both Canada’s federal government and the regions Indigenous populations. On Thin Ice is a broad synthesis that examines the current historiography of Indigenous relations in the Arctic."

• Ted L. McDorman, “From the Desk of the Editor-in-Chief,” Ocean Development & International Law 42, No. 3 (August 2011), 280-287: "This is a book about the politics, both domestic and regional, of the awakening of global interest in the Arctic ... a useful book for context."

• Martin Edwin Andersen, "A Must Read from the Troubador of the Land of the Midnight Sun," Amazon Reader Review, February 24, 2010: "5 Stars Out of 5. In On Thin Ice, Barry Scott Zellen poses tough questions about Canada's claims to a vast swathe of the soon-to-be hotly contested resource-rich Arctic. Zellen not only shows how much these depend on whether a collaborative and interdependent relationship can be successfully forged with Native peoples struggling to preserve fragile ecosystems and their own ethnic identity, but how conceptions of human security, tribal security and national security are inexorably tied together. Zellen's keen insight and painstaking research suggests that truths from the land of the midnight sun might help to illuminate and guide the struggles of indigenous peoples around the globe. On Thin Ice is a "must read" for the 21st century."

• Sarah Kate Milne, "Security on Ice: The Historical Transformation of Regional Security and International Society in the Arctic from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century," Doctoral Thesis, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick, August 15, 2020, https://hdl.handle.net/10344/9525: "Although conflict-laden scenarios for the Arctic in the near-future need to be considered and addressed, not least for how to avoid them: the problem is that there have been too few attempts to critically and conceptually analyse these papers. Furthermore, they should be assessed utilizing realist theories of IR which many of the arguments are implicitly based on yet often defy the inherent logic which such theories are based on. What also seems to be forgotten is that there are various forms of realism and understandings of important concepts such as the balance of power within the realist tradition, yet these differences are rarely engaged with individually in the literature. Barry Scott Zellen’s (2009) On Thin Ice is one exception to the lack of Arctic texts written through an explicit realist theory of International Relations. Zellen utilizes Kenneth Waltz’s three levels of analysis (the individual, the state, and the international system) with the addition of a new "Fourth Image" to describe a tribal level. Zellen’s (2009) study reveals that instead of the Arctic being perceived as a passive receptor of external changes at the international level (third image), he demonstrates how, during the crucial post-Cold War transition of the 1990s, “national policies increasingly reflected the aspirations of the peoples of the North". Zellen’s adaptation of Waltz’s neo-realist level of analysis theory is useful for simultaneously examining top-down and bottom-up processes of a single event occurring at a given time."

Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic (Praeger, 2009)

• In great company (again!) In his chapter "Saltwater Geopolitics in North America" in the newly published volume, Widening the Scope of Environmental Policies in North America: Toward Blue Approaches (Palgrave MacMillan, 2017), Ed Atkins cites my 2009 work on Arctic geopolitics, Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom alongside such luminaries as Carter-administration diplomat and National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski; Obama-administration Secretary of State (and almost-President), Hillary Clinton; the legendary Arctic expert and kind-hearted advocate of Inuit rights, Terry Fenge; the Hegelian End-of-Historian and G.W. Bush-era member of the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. State Department and long-time RANDite, Francis Fukuyama; former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper; pioneering Canadian peace researcher and environmental security theorist, Tad Homer-Dixon; the legendary and prolific strategic thinkers and writers, Robert D. Kaplan and Michael T. Klare; the pivotal and pioneering theorist of geopolitics, Halford J. Mackinder; the equally pivotal and pioneering naval strategist, theorist and admiral, Alfred T. Mahan; the widely-acclaimed offensive-realist theorist, John D. Mearsheimer; and the soft-power apostle and one-time Harvard University Nuclear Study (HUNS) Group member (and innovator of the "crystal ball effect" of nuclear weapons), Joseph Nye! In such august company, the only words that come to mind are, as the late John Belushi once eloquently put it: "Holy shit!" It's always such a great privilege (and greater surprise) to find out who I'm sitting near in the footnote and endnote sections of various books, chapters and articles - almost always by people I've never met but who I nonetheless want to personally thank: Thank you professor Atkins!

• Selected for "Special Focus: Good Winter Reads," Seniors Connect, Cleveland Public Library, 2012.

• Svein Vigeland Rottem, “Review of Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic,” Polar Record (December 2010): “Timely and intriguing. ... Zellen aims high and touches upon a wide range of highly interesting approaches on how to grasp and analyse the challenges and opportunities in the region. One could argue that this leads to a lack of analytical depth, but at the same time this wide scope offers its audience easy access, insight and plenty of food for thought into a wide range of pressing topics within the area of post cold war international relations. The book is a central contribution to the debate on the future of the Arctic.”

• Ken Atkinson, “Review of Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic,” British Journal of Canadian Studies, Volume 23, Number 2 (November 2010), 324: “The strength of the book lies in its treatment of the surge of activities by the circumpolar states in the 2000s in response to the predicted decline in sea-ice coverage. For example, the need for information on the position of the continental shelf has resulted in the present race by states to map the Arctic oceanbed, in a search for evidence to put before the International Seabed Authority (ISA) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This explains the recently updated Arctic policies of Canada and the US, and Russia’s dramatic flag-planting escapades at the North Pole in 2007. On these issues the book is commendably up-todate, and we are provided with over 50 pages of endnotes and bibliography (including many websites) for further reference.”

• Justin Klugh, “Book Review Wednesday: Books for the Cold at Heart,” The Green Life (Sierra Club), September 22, 2010: “The authors challenge some specific perspectives; most notably, yours. Should you be one of the many who don't live in Alaska, the frozen north is just that, and not much else. But for those who reside there, it's their neighborhood, their livelihood, and their home. A scientific look at just where global warming is going to leave us adds a foreboding sense of introspection for more than just those standing on the doorstep of climate change.”

• Kelley Crawford, "Book Review: Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic by Barry Scott Zellen," Security and Defense Studies Review (Spring-Summer 2010), 175-177. “Zellen deserves credit for providing another perspective on the Arctic’s situation where most of the literature is only concerned with the negative impacts of climate change.” Full Review:  
 
Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom: The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic takes a look at the transformation that the Arctic is undergoing due to the impacts of climate change. As the Arctic’s ice melts its vast resources will be accessible to development and the famed North West Passage and Northern Sea Routes will be open for the first time. The book examines the geopolitics of the Arctic from a historical and a contemporary perspective, illustrating how climate change is transforming our conception of the region. The study also discusses the role Arctic plays for security and the international community, while also considering the region’s indigenous peoples, economy and environment. Contrary to the norm, Zellen does not see the Arctic’s transformation as a climate crisis, a view which he says is shared by climate “pessimists,” such as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Instead, Zellen considers himself to be a climate “optimist,” for people will benefit as the Arctic’s resources and shipping lanes are made more accessible, bringing to close what he calls the long-awaited final chapter of the Ice Age. Zellen deserves credit for providing another perspective on the Arctic’s situation where most of the literature is only concerned with the negative impacts of climate change, but at times his approach can be too market friendly and optimistic.
 
1. In the first chapter Zellen makes clear the issues that characterize the Arctic as a remote location, highlighting how this image contrasts to the important role that the region actually played during the Cold War. The Arctic Zellen writes about is portrayed as having a role comparable to that of the Mediterranean of ancient times. | 2. In the second chapter Zellen is at his best as he presents an overview of military and strategic analyses of the Arctic’s historical geopolitical importance on the world stage. During the Cold War a military imperative to monitor the northern border led to the development of the “Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line that stretched across the Arctic and became an ‘Arctic Maginot Line,’ monitoring the northern skies for the first shots in a missile war. In addition, Zellen introduces three of Halford Mackinder’s 1943 geopolitical concepts to the discussion. One is the Heartland, a state’s interior that is rich in resources and largely isolated. The other terms are the Rimland, a state’s coastal region adjacent to the sea, and the Lenaland, that isolated region in Siberia that was immune to sea and land attack, and thus effectively isolated from the rest of the world. Most of the Arctic region is Lenaland, which is why the Arctic was a buffer between the Cold War warriors, while their main concern remained Western Europe. | 3. The third chapter examines the inevitable drive to develop the Arctic, or what Zellen calls the Arctic imperative. This force considers the Arctic as a national treasure chest that needs to be opened to serve the greater national interest. He makes the point that it is necessary to redefine this Arctic Imperative so that it considers the history, interests and challenges of indigenous peoples and the area’s preservation as well. The discussion also focuses on the history of the indigenous peoples’ land claims, and includes the new structures of self-government ranging from the native corporations of Alaska, to examples offered by the Inuit of northeastern Canada, and the Labrador Inuit. Unfortunately, the chapter does not examine all of the Arctic’s North America indigenous peoples and does not discuss the indigenous peoples from the Eurasian Arctic. As the ice melts, he asserts that indigenous people are in a position where they could gain enormous amounts of wealth due to the political systems they have set up, going as far to as compare them to the Saudi royal family. Despite their position, there are plenty of instances that occur today where states do not respect in deed the rights supposedly enjoyed by their indigenous peoples. A more encompassing selection of examples would have provided the reader with more clarity about the situation. However, he does mention that major social disruptions have occurred in indigenous society whenever there is an influx of outsiders, which was seen in epochs as different as the Klondike gold rush, World War II, the early Cold War, and the recent diamond rush of the 1990s. But he assumes that the indigenous peoples’ new systems of government will be able to cope with the large influx of outsiders that will accompany the opening up of the Arctic. | 4. The fourth chapter’s discussion takes on a global perspective of the Arctic by first looking at military operations in the region from WWII, the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the re-emergence of Russia. When covering the nature of the Arctic’s climate change he looks at the Intercontinental Panel on Climate Change, but he noticeably does not examine the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment study, is a comprehensively researched, fully referenced, and independently reviewed evaluation of arctic climate change and its impacts for the region and for the world, that was made by the Arctic Council. The chapter then discusses recent diplomatic events between Arctic states, including the moment when Russians planted a lag on the seabed of the North Pole in June, 2007 and the Russian and Canadian military actions in its aftermath. | 5. Despite the many uncertainties within the region, Zellen finds a generally upbeat atmosphere in Chapter Five. He focuses on the May 2008 Arctic Ocean Conference in Ilulissat, Greenland, where five Arctic states endorsed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the mechanism for resolving Arctic sovereignty issues. The extent of the states’ seabed territory is currently the most pressing uncertainty, for the seafloor is where many of the Arctic’s resources are found. The dispute on whether the Northwest Passage is an international or Canadian internal waterway is another important uncertainty, particularly relevant to U.S.-Canadian relations. The reader would have benefited from a closer look at the loss of summer Arctic sea ice within decades, an examination of the opening of the Arctic sea routes and the implications it would have for the states in the region and states outside the region, such as Panama. Examining the January 2009 U.S. National Security directive on the Arctic Zellen emphasizes its positive multilateral nature on issues ranging from the environment and indigenous rights, to international scientific cooperation. At the end of the chapter, he discusses the winners and losers of climate change, explaining that climate change needs to be viewed in more than just a pessimistic way. He does provide a global perspective on the international relations and security issues, but he never takes a look at how the Arctic’s changes will impact Earth’s climate. Other experts contend that never in human history has there been a time when there has not been Arctic ice cap. Readers might have expected a discussion on how the reduction of snow and ice will reduce the Arctic’s high levels of albedo, or the percentage of incoming radiation reflected off a surface, may interplay with the current escalation in climate change. Such a discussion would have allowed the reader to better understand why so many scientists believe the Arctic’s transformation will drastically accelerate global climate change. | 6. The last chapter tackles the general impacts on the Arctic’s vegetation, permafrost, and the release of methane that will occur in the future. Zellen does focus on sea ice reductions in 2007 and 2008, along with changes in Greenland’s ice sheet, although his citations are largely media reports. Had the discussion included the scientific literature behind these subjects, readers would have had a better understanding and appreciation for the connection between the geophysical and the political. Then again, he does address the possibilities of Arctic agriculture, the greening of the tundra and the rise in sea levels from Greenland’s melting ice sheet. The chapter also looks into the North Atlantic’s thermohaline circulation and argues that Greenland’s ice sheet is melting too slowly for the circulation to be affected, a claim that is certainly up for debate. | 7. The conclusion mentions the stress that climate change is putting on the Arctic, but he offers a perspective that is more optimistic by focusing on the opportunities that an open Arctic will provide.

• Professor Stephanie Irlbacher-Fox, University of Toronto, Journal of the ARCTIC, Volume 63, Issue 2, June 2010: “Zellen has written a book that will make us think, and for that, his contribution should be lauded and welcomed as a source of important discussion among students and scholars of northern studies and northern policy makers alike.”

• Roger G. Barry, Distinguished Professor of Geography, Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Journal of Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, February 2010: “a timely and topical book… useful to residents of the north and scientists who work there, policy makers, and businesses with Arctic activities.”

• SciTech Book News (December 2009)

• Foreign Policy Association Editor's Pick (October 2009)

• Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment (GNHRE),  Virtual Research Repository, Theoretical and Conceptual Issues, Ecology: Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom The Geopolitics of Climate Change in the Arctic (B.S. Zellen).

The Realist Tradition in International Relations: Foundations of Western Order, 4 Volumes (Praeger, 2011)

• SciTech Book News (December 2011): “Zellen (Naval Postgraduate School) has had an energetic passion for international relations theory for several decades, with a focus on Arctic security and circumpolar politics. Ambassador David T. Killion (US Ambassador to UNESCO) provides an introduction to this four-volume work, beginning with a reminiscence of his first course with Zellen at Wesleyan University in 1986, which included 'a veritable who's who of realism from the classical era up to the 20th century....' The foreword by Joel M. Ostrow (political science, Benedictine U.) points out that this treatise, for many, is long awaited. Ostrow explains that Zellen '...offers unique insights into the entire concept of the nation-state.' He continues, advising that reading this work '...is a massive journey...not for the faint of heart' and suggesting that students of international relations theory will be most interested in Zellen's development of constructive realism theory historically, philosophically, and politically. Zellen discusses the rise of the modern nation-state, explores (Ostrow's words) the 'application and misapplication of the ideas [of constructive realism],' and 'chronicles strategic thought during the age of total war' and reactions against the nation-state (as evidenced by the attacks of 9/11). The four volumes each have a focus and are titled as follows: v.1: State of Hope, v.2: State of Fear,, v.3: State of Awe, and v.4: State of Siege. Each volume is separately indexed.”

• Goodreads (December 2012): "Rated: 4 of 5 stars. Heavy reading. Zellen has a writing style that strikes a balance between scholar and poet as he traces Realism from Thucydides to Hitler. This first book in his four volume series is extremely informative, but excessively, unnecessarily wordy. It is also highly repetitive ..."

State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World (Continuum Books, 2011)

• "Brodie and War" by Dr. B.A. Clayton, Amazon UK, May 29, 2012: "An excellent account of Bernard Brodie's writings and thinking. Brodie was an eminent expert on military and political strategy. He was one of the first to interpret the significance of nuclear weapons, and later to formulate the theory of limited nuclear war. His writings on Clausewitz are very useful for the student. Like the Prussian he emphasized the need for war to have a reasonable objective. For Brodie the question that Marshal Foch used to ask: 'De quoi s'agit-il' is crucial. It is a great pity that our politicians did not consider it before entering on the fiascoes in Iraq and Afghanistan. I met Bernard Brodie several times at IISS Conferences. He was a very humane and charming man." 5.0 out of 5 stars.

• Strategy & Defence Planning: Meeting the challenge of uncertainty, by Colin S. Gray (Oxford University Press 2014), p104, n25: "This professional challenge was well flagged and discussed in Bernard Brodie, War and Politics (New York: Macmillan, 1973), ch. 10. Three first-rate studies help explain Brodie’s professional position, located as he was between and among history, social science, and physical science. See Ken Booth, ‘Bernard Brodie’, in John Baylis and John Garnett, eds., Makers of Nuclear Strategy (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991), 19–54; Barry H. Steiner, Bernard Brodie and the Foundations of American Nuclear Strategy (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1991); and Barry Scott Zellen, State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World (New York: Continuum, 2012)."

Also cited on p105, n33, and p190, n33: "Notwithstanding its title and argument in praise of economics as a science, there is little in Bernard Brodie’s brilliant 1949 argument in ‘Strategy as a science’ ... with which I disagree. Brodie’s argument, as it were from the ‘Stone Age’ of defence analysis in the late 1940s, needs to be read in the light of the argument in his last major work, War and Politics, esp. ch. 10. Barry Scott Zellen, State of Doom: Beyond Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World (New York: Continuum, 2012), is essential."

• Theory of Strategy, by Colin S. Gray (Oxford University Press, 2018), p5, n11: "The nature and apparently tolerable character of our nuclear armed condition was explained in a flow of books, articles, and studies in the late 1950s and 1960s. It would appear to be the case that just about everything that needed to be understood about nuclear dangers in statecraft was expressed at that time. However, the fundamentals of nuclear deterrence probably do need to be repeated loudly for new generations. The wisest of the wise among the first generation of nuclear-weapon theorists was undoubtedlty Bernard Brodie. See, particularly, his final book, <i>War and Politics</i> (New York: Macmillan, 1973). It is worth noting that Brodie attracted two fine, detailed biographies: Barry H. Steiner, Bernard Brodie and the Foundations of American Nuclear Strategy (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1991) and Barry Scott Zellen, State of Doom: Bernard Brodie, the Bomb, and the Birth of the Bipolar World (New York: Continuum, 2012)."

• The Clausewitz Home Page, Clausewitz Bookstore: New Releases on Clausewitz.

The Art of War in an Asymmetric World: Strategy for the Post-Cold War Era (Continuum Books, 2012):

• In great company - excerpts from The Art of War in an Asymmetric World were cited in Telos’ online journal, Teloscope – right after Sir Thomas Hobbes himself, three quotes before Kissinger, and seven before Carl Schmitt (three of my all-time favorite realists)! As Andrew M. Wender writes:

A more encompassing historical and geographic, and for that matter, metaphysical perspective might suggest that, in fact, ours is a fundamentally "asymmetric world," wherein struggle over such intimate forms of human identity as those that Barry Scott Zellen terms "tribal" and "ethereal" is much the norm. As Zellen asserts: "... modern states are neither eternal nor unchanging. They are dynamic and evolving. ... Indeed, across much of the world, there may truly be no state system at all, despite its prominence in the minds of theorists dating back so many centuries -- but instead, in its lofty place, is an ethereal but nonetheless lasting interconnection that varies greatly by region, shadows cast upon the wall of mind deep inside Plato's cave -- mere glimpses of an overarching order, amidst a kaleidoscopic amalgam of organic and synthetic parts, each doing what they do best, surviving in a maddeningly complex world -- for as long as they can."

A vital question, therefore, is how the political might be understood as animated and inspired by the theological, in ways that are justly reflective of the asymmetrical contours and contestations of human difference; this, as supposed to the artificial superimposition of violent, ostensibly symmetrical order.

Check out Andrew M. Wender’s “Asymmetry and the Reimagining of Political Theology,” Teloscope (March 8, 2017), at: http://www.telospress.com/asymmetry-and-the-reimagining-of…/

• The LSE School of Economics and Political Science Blog, August 18, 2013: "Barry Scott Zellen explores how the U.S. has had to adapt to the new asymmetrical world of conflict that followed the end of the Cold War and that culminates with today’s global jihadist movements. Featuring the works of key theorists such as John Arquilla, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Arthur K. Cebrowski, and David Ronfeldt, this book is to be recommended to students of strategic studies willing to bear with this dense study from beginning to end, writes Andrew McCracken: 'The Art of War in an Asymmetric World – or AWAW, to use the sort of acronym so beloved of the armed forces – is both a history of military planning in the US over the past few decades and a prescription aimed at what the author considers to be its flaws. Barry Scott Zellen writes: “indigenous tribes and the most modern of states are waging a new and very asymmetric kind of conflict, one that is redefining the very building blocks of world order.” In AWAW, Zellen synthesises the academic discourse surrounding America’s military strategy over the past few decades. Inevitably for such a study, the war on terror looms large throughout; subject of the book’s central chapter, the conflict also informs the entirety of AWAW. ... The work itself is an esoteric tome unlikely to appeal to readers unfamiliar with the field. Typically for strategic studies, familiarity with the works of Sun Tzu, Clausewitz and lesser theorists, in addition to a grounding in how the war on terror has unfolded, is taken as a given. Indubitably, this is not Contemporary Warfare for Dummies.'"

Read more: here.

State of Recovery: The Quest to Restore American Security After 9/11 (Bloomsbury 2013):

• Book Review of State of Recovery in Journal of Terrorism Research (JTR), Volume 5, Issue 2 (May 2014), p59-61. Reviewed by Richard English, Wardlaw Professor of Politics in the School of International Relations, and Director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), at the University of St Andrews:

"‘Technology to the Rescue.’ Barry Scott Zellen’s intriguing and impressive new book examines the deployment of technological innovation by the United States, as it has attempted to ensure its security from threat after the atrocity of 9/11. In the words of Zellen’s own manifesto here: ‘State of Recovery examines the numerous efforts by technologists and homeland security policy makers dedicated to restoring security and ameliorating the insecurity felt after the attacks more than a decade ago.’  It is a fascinating account. The author considers the dramatic US rise in technology spending, both public and private, since 2001; he assesses the remarkable innovation evident in recent years in biometrics, in information security, and in protection regarding aviation, underground travel, sporting events, food, and the mail system, as well as the reorganization (with the Department of Homeland Security and so forth) of US structures of prevention; he ranges widely over non-terrorist dangers, such as those posed by hostile states (North Korea, Iran), by illegal migration into America, and by increasing border violence.  Zellen is an admirably prolific and highly intelligent scholar. Here, he recognizes that some measure of insecurity and threat will prove residual. And some very good points are made. One of the repeatedly important lessons which emerges from this thoughtful book is the constant need for ensuring intra- and inter-state coordination, cooperation, and partnerships (together with organizational streamlining). Regrettably, it is an insight more easily stated than it is adhered to in effective manner.  No book is flawless. Zellen does not sustainedly explore the degree to which some of the USA’s main counter- terrorist efforts in recent years (especially in relation to Iraq) have actually generated more intense kinds of terrorist threat than had previously existed. Relatedly, he is better on the innovative technological brilliance involved in, for example, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles than he is in considering the possible blowback costs which the USA and its allies are likely to have to pay for drones’ lethal use. Here, as so often, there can be a seeming disjunction between the extraordinarily high levels of technical and technological sophistication shown by counter-terrorist states, and the sometimes crass naivety of states’ political and social approaches to the causation and likely dynamics of enduring conflict.  Zellen has interviewed some fascinating people involved in the world which he delineates. At times, I felt that he might have interrogated their assumptions and claims rather more stringently than he does, in light of other–corroborating or sceptical–sources. So the chapter on nuclear terrorism might perhaps be justified in its somewhat anxious tone; but this would have seemed more persuasive to me had Zellen engaged with the less alarmist arguments of scholars such as Michael Levi (which he does not).  One of the things that Zellen suggests is that ‘both the terrorists as well as those who fight them are finding that the internet has become a theatre of war unto itself ’. …"

Read the full review: here.

• Book Review of State of Recovery in British Association for American Studies' U.S. Studies Online Forum for New Writing. Reviewed by Dafydd Townley, September 2, 2015.

The terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11th 2001 was a watershed moment in national security in the United States. ... The Bush Administration’s reaction was the formation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in January 2003 with a budget of $29.4 billion as part of a massive federal government reshuffle. This led to what Barry Scott Zellen describes as ‘an unprecedented surge in governmental investment in new technologies for homeland security.’(9) It is this government investment in the technology industry and the industry’s subsequent impact on the maintenance of national security that is the subject of Zellen’s publication. State of Recovery highlights in particular where government-led initiatives to secure the United States’ borders were influenced by corporate innovation through  governmental funding and by developments within the consumer market since the Twin Towers attack. This is exemplified by the increase in efficiency and speed of development of consumer items such as mobile phones and tablets. As the war on terror became more technological, the military demand for greater technological advances became exponential, as did the funding. The increasing use of technology by both the US government and armed forces, and terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda, leads Zellen to declare that ‘the internet has become a theatre of war unto itself.’(P24)

The book comprises of a number of essays written by Zellen which deal with the developments and innovation within information technology after the attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001. It addresses the issues faced by the US government after 9/11 to ensure the safety of the general public against terrorist attacks, and examines the attempts made by the US to make sure that any future hostilities occur as far away as possible from the US mainland. This is an impressive piece of scholarship by a recognised authority in his field. Zellen asserts that any successful national security program has to be as a result of successful partnerships, and it is a theory that is developed and supported by a wealth of information. The co-operation of government departments and technological corporations is illustrated throughout. The transformation of protection against online identity fraud is an example of this: already being developed by online security firms prior to 9/11, the necessity of restricting terrorist movement post 9/11 led to massive funding from the US government into the venture as part of the DHS’s Real ID Program. The program, part of the Real ID Act was an effort, says Zellen, to close the ‘revolving door to terror’. (33) It is Zellen’s examination of such juxtapositions that make this monograph such a unique and important contribution to the study of national security. ... State of Recovery is a remarkable piece of scholarship that fills a gap within the study of national security. It does not examine in detail the events or politics that led to the creation of the Bush Doctrine in the Post /11 era, rather it examines the role that information technology had in helping the Bush and Obama administrations realize their foreign policy, in particular its role in the Global War On Terror. It is an excellent supplement to more conventional national security studies, in particular highlighting the effect of the partnership between the federal government and technological corporations had on foreign policy, and the subsequent collateral effect on the consumer technological market.

Read the full review: here

The Fast-Changing Arctic: Rethinking Arctic Security for a Warmer World (University of Calgary Press, 2013):

• Betty Galbraith, Science Librarian and Instruction Coordinator, Washington State University in Northeastern Naturalist, Vol. 20, Issue 4, B10 (December 2013):

"Many have heard about the plight of the polar bear due to the shrinking of sea ice, but few have considered the other repercussions of global warming and the melting of sea ice in the Arctic. Luckily, circumpolar Arctic organizations, governments, and peoples have been considering this for many years.  This book is a collection of essays on just these topics: sovereignty, strategic defense, national and environmental security, and global economics.  Some of these essays consider the probable rush to grab territories, and to exploit new transportation routes and newly accessible natural resources.  For example, a Russian flag was planted on the seabed of the North Pole in 2007.  Corporations and countries are already positioning themselves to exploit oil and gas reserves currently under Arctic ice.  This raises several questions: How can the Arctic nations peacefully manage these conflicting demands?  What about the demands of non-Arctic nations that want a part of the spoils?  Who will have the right to create and enforce environmental standards and rules? How will indigenous peoples fare? This is an excellent collection of essays from knowledgeable people. It is a must for anyone interested in geopolitics, international relations, and northern studies. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels."

BioOne members may read the entire review here.

• Kristian Atand, of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, in The Journal of Polar Research (Vol 33, Feb 2014):

"How will the changes currently taking place in the Arctic affect the future nature of interstate relations in the region? To what extent, and how, will the decline in summer and winter sea ice in the Polar Basin lead to changes in the pattern of human activity in the Arctic? How do the Arctic states approach the region and each other, and to what extent are their Arctic strategies compatible? Will the Arctic become an arena of jurisdictional disputes and heightened military tension, or will it become a region of cooperation and prosperity? These are among the core questions addressed in The Fast-Changing Arctic: rethinking security for a warmer world, edited by Barry Scott Zellen.  ... Zellen is a senior fellow at the Institute of the North, Alaska, where he directs the Fast-Changing Arctic project, which focuses on the geopolitical and other impacts of changes taking place in the circumpolar Arctic. Having worked on related issues since the end of the Cold War, as a journalist, editor and researcher, he has established himself as a prolific writer on Arctic and northern affairs. He is the author or editor of about 10 books and has several more on the way. ... The current book, which is a 400-page anthology featuring contributions by 20 authors, revisits many of the issues that were raised in Zellen’s monograph, Arctic doom, Arctic boom: the geopolitics of climate change in the Arctic, published in 2009. At the same time, the current book widens the perspective and adds new dimensions to the analysis. Overall, it makes for an enjoyable read. The 16 chapters of this book are organized into three main parts, “Arctic climate change: strategic challenges and opportunities”, “cooperation and conflict: paths forward” and “regional perspectives”. The book also includes a brief foreword by Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor, Mead Treadwell, a concluding chapter by the editor (“Stability and security in a post-Arctic world: towards a convergence of indigenous, state, and global interests at the top of the world”) and an eight-page afterword by University of Alaska professor, Lawson Brigham. ... Zellen has done a great job in assembling the contributions and presenting them for a wider audience in the form of a highly accessible anthology. The book is well structured, most of the relevant topics and perspectives are represented, and all of the chapters add to our understanding of the increasingly complex dynamics at play in the northern part of the globe."

Read more: here.

• Mike Cowton, in the February 25, 2014 edition of Eco Travel Guide, online at: http://www.ecotravelguide.eu/fast-changing-arctic/

REVIEW: THE FAST-CHANGING ARCTIC: Rethinking Arctic Security for a Warmer World, edited by Barry Scott Zellen (University of Calgary Press):

"Sought by explorers for centuries as a possible trade route, the Northwest Passage sea route traverses the Arctic Ocean, following the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. and connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. First navigated by Roald Amundsen in 1903–1906, up until 2009, the Arctic pack ice prevented regular marine shipping throughout much of the year. However, climate change has reduced the pack ice, with summer Arctic sea-ice coverage shrinking by over a third in the past three decades. This shrinkage has seen the waterways becoming more navigable. That said, contested sovereignty claims over the waters have complicated shipping through the region.  In his  foreword, ‘Witnessing an Arctic Renaissance’, Mead Treadwell, Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska, writes that ‘for Arctic states across the globe, the accessible Arctic Ocean presents opportunities of a lifetime, with energy resources, minerals, tourism and shipping potential making this increasingly accessible region a classic emerging market’. The planting of a Russian flag on the Arctic sea-bed beneath the North Pole in August 2007 is symbolic of the high stakes involved as the Arctic opens up to oil and gas exploration, shipping, tourism and increased human habitation.  Much has been written on the climatological and ecological stresses on the region, with little addressed on the military, defence, strategic and macro-economic opportunities associated with polar thaw. Here, international scholars and military professionals explore the strategic consequences of sea-ice decline. Timely reading indeed, on sovereignty and territorial disputes, oil and gas exploration, fishing, coastguard responsibilities and Arctic tourism."

Read more here.

• Valur Ingimundarson, of the University of Iceland, "Geostrategic Visions for the Arctic," in the March 2014 edition of H-Net's (Humanities and Social Sciences Online's) H-Diplo, online at: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=40301

"... Edited by Barry Scott Zellen, who has written extensively on Arctic geopolitics, The Fast Changing Arctic contains contributions from established and junior scholars as well as military and coast guard professionals ... together, they deal with a wide array of Arctic topics, such as military and defense, governance and regional management, Arctic strategies, environmental politics, maritime and shipping developments, and sovereignty and legal concerns.  ... Zellen analyzes the U.S. military regional commands in Arctic areas, that is, the Northern Command (NORTHCOM), Pacific Command (PACOM), and European Command (EUCOM) areas. He asserts that EUCOM should, in the future, be responsible for Arctic defense since the potential threat does not emanate from China, whose interests in the region are largely economic in nature, but from Russia. As he puts it: “Proximity to an awakening Russian bear, and experience in taming its more aggressive instincts, will be an important key to a secure and peaceful North” (p. 244). An important part of such Western regional defenses--he maintains--has historically been through close ties to Greenland and Iceland. ... In his treatment of future Arctic developments, Zellen conjures Cold War utopian and dystopian visions for the Arctic. He argues that an “Arctic Spring” has the potential to transform the Arctic Basin “much like the Prague Spring promised to open up and integrate Czechoslovakia with the West” (p. 343). The hope it expressed, he continues--while temporarily crushed in 1968--was realized with the Velvet Revolution of 1989. In addition, he stresses the empowerment of Arctic indigenous peoples and sees an independent Greenland as a real possibility. In fact, the editor--who is steeped in a realist tradition--is the only contributor prepared to project Manichean Cold War schemes onto the Arctic in his assessment of future strategic developments. Sometimes, he goes way too far in his analogies--the discourse on the “Arctic Spring” and the “Prague Spring” is a case in point. But he is also willing to contemplate other cooperative scenarios and transformative and empowering possibilities for the Arctic indigenous peoples. Thus, despite the hyperbolic language, the Arctic is, in the end, not seen as a geostrategic fixture, as was the case during the Cold War, but as a region open to different interpretations and outcomes, including emancipatory potentials."

Read the whole review here.

• Nikolas Sellheim, Faculty of Law, University of Lapland, Review of The Fast-Changing Arctic in Polar Record, published on 13 March 2014 by Cambridge University Press:

"The warming trends in the Arctic have been widely documented and seem to have found rather unison acceptance among climate scientists. Secondary effects of this trend are reflected in the political developments in the region, albeit with differences in interpretation as to which path political developments will tread: conflict or cooperation? It is thus a matter of ‘security’ in the region which must be related to climate change. And this is what The Fast-changing Arctic – rethinking Arctic security for a warmer world tries to achieve. The book is subdivided into four sections, ‘Arctic climate change: strategic challenges and opportunities’, ‘Cooperation and conflict: paths forward’, ‘Regional perspectives’, and ‘Concluding observations’.  ... there are several contributions in this volume which justify the ‘rethinking’-element of the book. ... It is thus to conclude that The Fast-changing Arctic provides many new perspectives on a traditional understanding of Arctic security with a dominant state-centred, North American focus."

Read the review here.

• John D. Jacobs, Honorary Research Professor, Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the Journal of Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (May 2014):

"The Fast-Changing Arctic is more about the geopolitics of the Arctic than the rapidly evolving environmental changes taking place there. However, anyone who does research in the Arctic must be sensitive to the politics at some level and will be interested in policy matters that can be informed by science and ultimately will affect the future state of the Arctic environment. This book is a collection of 16 substantive chapters arranged under the headings Arctic climate change: strategic challenges and opportunities, Cooperation and conflict: paths forward, Regional perspectives, and Concluding remarks. The 17 authors encompass a range of relevant experience and expertise, and include academics, military and diplomatic professionals, and journalists. None appear to be from indigenous Arctic communities, although several of the chapters deal with emerging indigenous governance and power-sharing issues, particularly in Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. There are extensive notes and references, numerous maps and other figures, a comprehensive index, and information about the contributing authors. Most of the chapters have appeared previously as articles in foreign policy and international law journals dating between 2009 and 2011, but they provide good background to things to come.  Arctic warming and associated diminishing sea ice and other physical and ecological effects are sketched in several chapters, with reference to model projections for future change. That the decline in seasonal sea-ice extent has outpaced most model projections is noted and becomes a source of some urgency, as in Alun Anderson’s statement, “action to look after the Arctic must accelerate too.”  ....The Fast-Changing Arctic is a comprehensive treatment of current Arctic policy issues by authors with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. While the book lacks some of the continuity of a focused work by a single author, the editor has succeeded in organizing the various contributions into a coherent whole. This book joins a growing literature on politics, resource development, and environmental issues in the Arctic, and should be of interest to anyone who has an interest in the future of the region."

Read the full review: here

• Miloš Barták, "Review of The fast-changing Arctic. Rethinking Arctic security for a warmer world, Barry Scott Zellen (ed.)," Czech Polar Reports: An Interdisciplinary Journal 4, No. 1 (2014), Masaryk University, Brno.

"A general feature of the book is that it brings a pragmatic view on the consequences of the global warming of the atmosphere, and the sea ice decline in the northern hemisphere in particular. In contrast to many books on the market that focus on recent climatological and environmental changes happening in the Arctic ocean, The fast-changing Arctic overviews the aspects of ongoing transformation of the Arctic with main emphasis given to tourism impact, increased availability of mineral sources, fishing industry, human habitation, economic, military, and defense consequences. Among the many topics presented in the book, the likely effects of increased shipping through the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route are brought into focus. The book is not a typical scientific study; it is rather a platform for several professionals and academicians who comment on history and possible future scenarios of environment, geopolitical and security issues in the Arctic. ... As regards security in the Arctic region, the majority of the co-authors stress the importance of dialogue and collaboration between countries involved in ship transportation in coastal Arctic seas that are expected to be more open in future. In one of the concluding chapters, L. W. Brigham concludes that "The Arctic will become a shipping superhighway," which again supports the idea of co-operation and a necessity for coordination of the exploitation of traffic routes in Arctic seas. The book can be recommended to professionals in the field of international relations, geodemography, strategic studies, and members of international organizations that have Arctic issues in their scope."

Read the full review: here

• Monika Huch, Adelheidsdorf, Buchbesprechungen / Book Reviews, Polarforschung 83 (2), 83–93, 2013 (erschienen 2014) 

(In German) "Wissenschaftler, die in den arktischen Regionen forschen, erleben bereits den Wandel zu einer wärmeren Arktis. Vor wenigen Monaten erschien die von Barry Scott Zellen heraus- gegebene Zusammenstellung von Beiträgen namhafter Autoren aus den USA, Kanada, Norwegen, Dänemark und Finnland, aber auch aus China und Australien. Darin wird deutlich, dass sich Verantwortliche in den verschiedensten Universitäts-, Forschungs- und Regierungsnahen Institutionen seit mindestens zehn Jahren mit der Tatsache beschäftigen, dass sich die arktischen Lebensräume dramatisch verändern. Die Konsequenzen sind für Wissenschaftler zu spüren, aber für die Menschen, die in den zirkum-arktischen Regionen leben, ändern sich tradierte Lebensweisen. Die besonders empfindlichen arktischen Ökosysteme haben möglicherweise nicht genügend Zeit, sich auf die schnellen Veränderungen einzustellen. Hinzu kommen die Auswirkungen eines zuneh- menden Schiffsverkehrs, sowohl von kommerziellen Fracht- schiffen als auch von Kreuzfahrtschiffen. 

"Das fast 400 Seite dicke Buch ist in vier Großkapitel unterteilt. Im ersten Teil Arctic Climate Change: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities stecken vier Beiträge den Rahmen ab (The Fast-Changing Maritime Arctic, von Lawson W. Brigham; Can We Keep Up with Arctic Change? von Alun Anderson; “Politicization“ of the Environment: Environmental Politics and Security in the Circumpolar North von Lassi Kalevi Heininen; Conceptualizing Climate Security for a Warming World: Complexity and the Environment-Conflict-Linkage von Daniel Clausen und LTJG Michael Clausen, USCG). Im zweiten Teil geht es ebenfalls in vier Beiträgen um Cooperation and Conflict: Paths Forward (Cooperation or Conflict in a Changing Arctic? Opportunities for Maritime Cooperation in Arctic National Strategies von Ian G. Bros- nan, Thomas M. Leschine und Edward L. Miles; Energy and the Arctic Dispute: Pathway to Conflict or Cooperation? von Nong Hong; Maritime Boundary Disputes in East Asia: Lessons for the Arctic von James Manicom; Babysteps: Developing Multilateral Institutions in the Arctic von Maj. Henrik Jedig Jørgensen). Im Teil Regional Perspectives stel- len sieben Beiträge die Sichtweise von Europa und des hohen Nordatlantiks (1), von Nordamerika (2) sowie Russland (4) vor. Im vierten Teil Concluding Observations geht Barry Scott Zellen auf Stability and Security in a Post-Arctic World: Towards a Convergence of Indigenous, State, and Global Interests at the Top of the World ein. Alle Autoren werden kurz vorgestellt. 

"Brauchen wir also mehr Regeln für das Miteinander in diesem riesigen, dünn besiedelten, klimatisch außerordentlich verletz- lichen Gebiet? Barry Scott Zellen geht diese provokante Frage an, indem er an die Zeit des Kalten Krieges erinnert. Auch damals ging es quasi um Leben oder Tod, vielleicht des gesamten Planeten. Die Strategien von damals sollten neu gedacht und auf die neue Herausforderung aktualisiert werden. Er plädiert dafür, die Entwicklung positiv als Herausforde- rung zu sehen, um proaktiv Lösungsmöglichkeiten zu suchen. Dazu müssen sich alle, die die Arktis nutzen, in ihr leben, in ihr forschen, tatsächlich (neue) Regeln setzen, deren Einhal- tung auch überwacht werden muss. Zellen geht natürlich vor allem auf das gewachsene Selbstbewusstsein der arktischen Inuit-Völker in Alaska und Nordkanada sowie Grönland ein. Aber auch in Skandinavien, Russland und China gibt es indi- gene Völker, die ein Recht auf ihr Land haben. Er geht auf die Circumpolar Inuit Declaration ein, die am 18. April 2009 von einer Inuit-Delegation aus Grönland, Kanada, Alaska und Russland während einer Sitzung des Arctic Councils in Tromsø, Norwegen, vorgestellt wurde. Diese Deklaration fordert die Einbeziehung der indigenen Völker der Arktis in alle politischen und kommerziellen Entscheidungen. Abschlie- ßend macht Zellen noch einmal deutlich, wie sehr es auf den Standpunkt ankommt. Sehen wir die Veränderungen in der Arktis als Krise oder als historische Gelegenheit für einen „Arktischen Frühling“? 

"Wer sich nicht nur für die (natur-)wissenschaftliche Erfor- schung der Arktis interessiert, sondern auch die aktuellen Entwicklungen verfolgt, findet in diesem Buch eine Fülle von Informationen und Argumenten aus verschiedensten Blickwin- keln. Zumindest sollte es in jeder Handbibliothek von For- schungsgruppen stehen, die in der Arktis tätig sind.
In diesem Zusammenhang möchte ich auf den Vortrag von Karin Lochte, Direktorin des Alfred-Wegener-Instituts für Polar- und Meeresforschung hinweisen, den sie während der 25. Internationalen Polartagung der DGP 2013 in Hamburg gehalten hat (Polarforschung 82: 141-143). Sie ging auf die Zukunft der Polarwissenschaften ein und wies darauf hin, dass sich die Bandbreite der wissenschaftlichen Forschungen in der Arktis erweitern wird, z.B. um Ingenieur-, Medizin-, Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften. Sie forderte uns auf, uns vorzustellen, wie die Polarregionen beispielsweise in 20 Jahren aussehen würden und sprach davon, dass es bereits ein BMBF-Papier „Arctic Strategy: Rapid Changes in the Arctic. Polar research in global responsibility“ gibt. Ein kompli- zierter Pfad führt im Internet dorthin; er beginnt bei www. scar-iasc.de und führt unter News mit Datum 31.10.2013 „Leitlinien deutscher Arktispolitik“ ins Auswärtige Amt. Forschung in der Arktis bleibt eine Herausforderung, auch – oder gerade – weil es wärmer wird."

(Google Translate German-to-English) "Scientists conducting research in the Arctic regions are already experiencing the transition to a warmer Arctic. A few months ago, Barry Scott Zellen published a compilation of contributions by renowned authors from the USA, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, as well as from China and Australia. It makes clear that for at least ten years, leaders at various universities, research institutions, and government-related institutions have been addressing the fact that Arctic habitats are undergoing dramatic changes. Scientists are feeling the consequences, but for the people living in the circum-Arctic regions, traditional ways of life are changing. The particularly sensitive Arctic ecosystems may not have enough time to adapt to the rapid changes. Added to this are the effects of increasing shipping traffic, both from commercial cargo ships and cruise ships. 

"The nearly 400-page book is divided into four major chapters. In the first part, Arctic Climate Change: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities, four contributions define the framework (The Fast-Changing Maritime Arctic, by Lawson W. Brigham; Can We Keep Up with Arctic Change? by Alun Anderson; “Politicization” of the Environment: Environmental Politics and Security in the Circumpolar North by Lassi Kalevi Heininen; Conceptualizing Climate Security for a Warming World: Complexity and the Environment-Conflict-Linkage by Daniel Clausen and LTJG Michael Clausen, USCG). The second part also contains four contributions on Cooperation and Conflict: Paths Forward (Cooperation or Conflict in a Changing Arctic? Opportunities for Maritime Cooperation in Arctic National Strategies by Ian G. Brosnan, Thomas M. Leschine, and Edward L. Miles; Energy and the Arctic Dispute: Pathway to Conflict or Cooperation? by Nong Hong; Maritime Boundary Disputes in East Asia: Lessons for the Arctic by James Manicom; Babysteps: Developing Multilateral Institutions in the Arctic by Maj. Henrik Jedig Jørgensen). In the Regional Perspectives section, seven contributions present the perspectives of Europe and the high North Atlantic (1), North America (2), and Russia (4). In the fourth part, Concluding Observations, Barry Scott Zellen addresses Stability and Security in a Post-Arctic World: Towards a Convergence of Indigenous, State, and Global Interests at the Top of the World. All authors are briefly introduced. 

"So do we need more rules for coexistence in this vast, sparsely populated, and climatically extremely vulnerable region? Barry Scott Zellen addresses this provocative question by recalling the Cold War era. Back then, too, it was essentially a matter of life and death, perhaps for the entire planet. The strategies of that time should be rethought and updated to reflect the new challenges. He advocates viewing the development positively as a challenge in order to proactively seek possible solutions. To do this, everyone who uses the Arctic, lives in it, and conducts research there must actually set (new) rules, compliance with which must also be monitored. Of course, Zellen primarily addresses the growing self-confidence of the Arctic Inuit peoples in Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland. But there are also indigenous peoples in Scandinavia, Russia, and China who have a right to their land. He discusses the Circumpolar Inuit Declaration, which was presented on April 18, 2009, by an Inuit delegation from Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and Russia during a meeting of the Arctic Council in Tromsø, Norway. This declaration calls for the inclusion of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic in all political and commercial decisions. Finally, Zellen emphasizes once again how important perspectives are. Do we see the changes in the Arctic as a crisis or as a historic opportunity for an "Arctic Spring"? 

"Anyone who is not only interested in the (natural) scientific research of the Arctic, but also follows current developments, will find a wealth of information and arguments from a wide variety of perspectives in this book. At the very least, it should be in every reference library of research groups working in the Arctic. 

"In this context, I would like to draw attention to the lecture given by Karin Lochte, Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, which she gave during the 25th International Polar Conference of the German Polar Society (DGP) in 2013 in Hamburg (Polar Research 82: 141-143). She addressed the future of polar sciences and pointed out that the range of scientific research in the Arctic will expand, for example, to include engineering, medicine, law, and economics. She asked us to imagine what the polar regions would look like in 20 years, and mentioned that there is already a BMBF paper entitled "Arctic Strategy: Rapid Changes in the Arctic. Polar research in global responsibility." A complicated path leads there on the internet; it begins at www.scar-iasc.de and leads to the Federal Foreign Office under News dated October 31, 2013, "Guidelines for German Arctic Policy." Research in the Arctic remains a challenge, especially because of warming temperatures."

Culture, Conflict and Counterinsurgency (Stanford University Press, 2014):

• Ohio State Professor Peter Mansoor's Review of Culture, Conflict, and Counterinsurgency in the July 2014 edition of H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews, http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=41583:

"Culture, Conflict, and Counterinsurgency is a collaborative effort by ten scholars and military practitioners to explain the criticality of cultural knowledge and awareness in the messy small wars of the twenty-first century, in particular the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. The product of a two-year study sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, California, this volume seeks to clarify the importance of cultural understanding to national security and foreign policy, the theory underpinning cultural analysis, practical difficulties involved in data collection and analysis, and how cultural issues have impacted recent military adventures in the Middle East and South Asia. Contributors include cultural and social anthropologists, historians, and military officers with both academic and field experience in anthropology and counterinsurgency warfare. The editors conclude that culture matters a great deal in conflict, and the United States and its allies can either make the effort to understand its impact on warfare or suffer the unhappy consequences of their ignorance. They optimistically conclude that Afghanistan can still turn out successful for the United States and its Afghan allies provided they undertake a “significant course change reflecting cultural nuances” (p. 3). Although this assessment may be overly optimistic given the impending departure of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan, this book is highly recommended for scholars, military practitioners, and government officials involved in studying or crafting policies concerning irregular warfare in the twenty-first century. The volume is divided into two general sections, the first focusing on theory and methodology and the second on practice in the context of the war in Afghanistan. The first section will appeal primarily to scholars, although Alexei Gavriel’s chapter on the creation and use of cultural and ethnographic intelligence by military forces will spark both interest among military intelligence professionals and no doubt a great deal of angst among sociologists and anthropologists. The discussion of culture and the war in Afghanistan in the second part of the book will be of more interest to the generally informed reader. ... The editors conclude, “In the history of recent counterinsurgency efforts, the impact of cultural understanding on military operations cannot be underestimated” (p. 252). Perhaps the impact cannot be underestimated, but it can be ignored. There are a number of military officers and self-appointed counterinsurgency pundits who are trying to do just that in their quest to return the focus of the U.S. military to fighting state-on-state wars. As U.S. forces withdraw from the conflicts spawned by the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, Americans and their military leaders seem united by a common desire to forgo any more of these messy, troop-intensive counterinsurgency conflicts. Unfortunately, in our haste to forget the history of the past decade-plus of warfare in the Middle East and South Asia, we may also jettison the very lessons—among them the importance of culture in determining the outcome of these conflicts—that may help future generations avoid the pitfalls that plagued too many U.S.-led military operations in the past. The editors and contributors to this volume make a convincing case that culture matters a great deal in the outcome of insurgencies and counterinsurgency warfare. Although this book has probably come too late to change the outcome of the conflict in Afghanistan, perhaps it is timely enough to educate the next generation of military leaders, who most certainly will see this type of war again."

Read the full review here. Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=41583.