Importance The article examines the specifics of Norway's contemporary military strategy in the Arctic. Objectives The research evaluates strategic plans of Norway, key areas of military construction, priorities of international military cooperation and capabilities of the Norwegian armed forces for achieving goals in the Arctic. Results The article shows the duality of the Norwegian strategy. On the one hand, the strategy supports anti-Russian trends and fits into the global containment between Russia and the USA, which is seen in the Arctic. On the other hand, Norway has a long cooperation history with Russia, thus being interested to continue the cooperation in the long run. The Ukrainian crisis aggravated the cooling trend in relationships between Norway and Russia. The armed forces of Norway are being modernized, with the scale of military construction showing the growing significance of the Arctic for defense policies. However, the defensive capabilities of Norway have not yet altered the balance of powers in the Arctic. The country focuses on integrating military policies of the Nordic countries as part of NORDEFCO and NATO. Conclusions and Relevance The military strategy of Norway will be teetering between the anti?Russian inclination and the military cooperation with Russia. The anti-Russian rhetoric of Norway is more reserved as compared with other Arctic countries. The possible deployment of armed forces in the Arctic does not pose a threat to Russia's national security so far.
Keywords: Arctic, military strategy, security
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