Compiled by Athena Smith.
Articles
Tiziana Melchiorre reviewed Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds’ book, “Unfrozen: The Fight for the Future of the Arctic.” Melchiorre praised the book’s examination of how military, ecological, and energy dynamics shaped cooperations and tensions between regional states. Melchiorre highlighted the authors’ argument that climate change has prompted new power struggles over the Arctic’s resources.
In this regard, the militarization of the Arctic territories plays a role. That process began in response to the growing accessibility of natural resources caused by ice melting and has recently increased because of the worsening of East-West relations. Thus, militarization is clearly linked not only to protection of state territory but also to more aggressive assertions of sovereign rights, whose importance has grown in the altered geopolitical context. This is evident from the priorities identified in the most recent
[Arctic policies]of the[eight regional states], which emphasize national security and territorial integrity. As Bennett and Dodd explain, this increased militarization risks the sidelining of the Arctic Council, with focus on soft security issues such as environmental protection.
Liron Libman argued that nonkinetic countermeasures could serve as a viable alternative to military force against Iran to push back against the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Libman explained potential options for affected states, such as limits on the free passage of Iranian-flagged vessels or UN Security Council action, which could pressure Iran into complying with international law and opening the strait.
A state whose vessels were attacked, denied transit passage, or forced to pay unlawful charges clearly qualifies as an injured state. A state that can show concrete and distinguishable economic injury caused by Iran’s obstruction of Hormuz—beyond generalized market effects suffered by all states—
[may also qualify]as specially affected under the commentary to Article 42 of the International Law Commission Articles on State Responsibility. Other states may invoke Iran’s responsibility in the collective interest, but their entitlement to take countermeasures remains more controversial.What might an effective countermeasure against Iran’s blocking of Hormuz look like?
One idea would be to make it clear to Iranian leadership that Iran, too, depends on the legal regime of free passage through international straits.
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