Arctic Governance from the Perspective of “Self-Governance” Theory

Abstract

The current governance model of the Arctic accords with the theoretical characteristics of Ostrom’s “self-governance” theory to a large extent, such as the multi-centralized governance pattern of the Arctic with self-governance factors, the size of the Arctic Council and the nature of high-level forum. The current difficulties of the Arctic Council’s self-governance are mainly manifested in the unstable external political environment, difficulties in institutional supply and lack of credible commitments. The breakthrough of the dilemma of self-governance and the realization of institutional change can be started from the “nested enterprise” model to explore the multi-level arctic governance pattern.