Prof. Kamrul Hossain at the Arctic Congress in Bodo 2024!

The 2024 Arctic Congress was held in Bodo, Norway, from May 29 to June 3. It was organized in conjunction with three other events: the International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS), the High North Dialogue, and the Arctic Assembly. The week-long program has attracted approximately 1400 participants from all across the Arctic world. During the Congress, Prof. Hossain spoke at two sessions – one on science diplomacy in the exceptional Arctic, which discusses the future of Arctic governance and science cooperation in the event of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Among others, six speakers highlighted the need for re-convening scientific cooperation with scientists from Russia. 

In his speech, Prof. Hossain explained why there was an obsession with “Arctic exceptionalism” and why such an obsession died. He noted that exceptionalism was primarily due to the end of the Cold War in the 1990s, which created an environment and space for cooperation. The start of the cooperation took momentum with the establishment of the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) in 1991 and continued successfully through the Arctic Council. However, as it seems Russia is re-positioning itself in great power politics, and China is becoming a new super-power and more involved in global power politics while also aligning with Russia and NATO on the other side, a new cold war is evolving. This suggests the exercise of power politics elsewhere in the world has implications for Arctic cooperation. After all, the Arctic contains a fragmented geographical space ruled by eight sovereign states, where national security dynamics play a crucial role in any threat scenario. 

On the other panel, Prof. Hossain spoke on the importance of a transnational governance structure in the Arctic that connects sub-national bodies and offers a useful tool to bring the bottom-up approach to Arctic governance for a more legitimate, democratic, and sustainable Arctic Cooperation. He brought the example of the Arctic Mayor Forum and its strategies for implementing sustainable development goals in member cities. In addition to the scientific sessions, Prof. Hossain has attended several business meetings, including the UArctic Thematic Networks, UArctic Assembly, and the Assembly of the International Arctic Social Science Association (IASSA). At the IASSA Assembly, Prof. Hossain has been elected to its new Council (2024-2027), which will hold the ICASS conference in Greenland in 2027.