Kingston Conference on International Security (KCIS-2011): The Changing Arctic: Sovereignty, Resources, and Security

Summary of the Kingston Conference on International Security (KCIS-2011) (6th), The Changing Arctic: Sovereignty, Resources, and Security, held in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on June 13-15, 2011.

The sixth annual Kingston Conference on International Security (KCIS-2011), on The Changing Arctic: Sovereignty, Resources, and Security, was held June 13-15, 2011, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The conference was organized by the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen's University; and the Chair of Defence Management Studies, School of Policy Studies, Queen's University; the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S. Army War College; and the Land Force Doctrine and Training System of the Canadian Forces. It was designed to outline strategies for coping with the rapid climatic changes that have taken place in the Arctic in recent years, and to discuss both the challenges and the opportunities that will arise as a result of the opening of this vast region to more intensive research and development. This conference was attended by more than 200 government officials, experts from universities and think tanks, and U.S. and Canadian military personnel; it featured a wide range of presentations that sought to outline the factors that will shape the interaction of key stakeholders in the Arctic in the years to come. The brief is divided into the following sections: Panel I: Conflict and Cooperation: The Geo-Politics of the Arctic; Panel II: Sovereignty: Borders and Security; Panel III: The Rush for Resources: Costs and Benefits; Panel IV: Stepping into the Future; and Conclusions: The Future of Arctic Security.