Jennifer Spence to Address Rising Geopolitical Tensions at UArctic Congress 2026
The UArctic Congress 2026 presents one of its five thematic plenary sessions, Sustainable Economic Development and International Cooperation, featuring a keynote contribution from Jennifer Spence, Director of the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School.
Spence will speak on how sustainable economic growth and stable political environments are central to thriving Arctic societies. However, political environments in the Arctic region are increasingly shaped by rising tensions between the great powers and broader geopolitical instability.
The session will examine the forces driving growing political and military tensions in the Arctic and North Atlantic, and how small states, subnational actors, and non-state actors in the region may respond to and navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain geopolitical landscape.
It will also address key developments such as U.S. ambitions to “acquire” Greenland, Russia’s military build-up, and the evolving roles of China and the European Union in the region.
The session will be chaired by Heini í Skorini, Associate Professor at the University of the Faroe Islands, and will bring together leading voices from across the Arctic region to explore the intersection of geopolitics, economic development, and international collaboration.
Jennifer Spence will be joined in the panel by Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Member of the Danish Parliament for Greenland (Inuit Ataqatigiit), and Guðbjørg Ríkey Th. Hauksdóttir, Programme Manager at the Centre for Arctic Studies, University of Iceland. Together, they will contribute to a timely and interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of cooperation and development in the Arctic.
Read more about Jennifer Spence here.