Geopolitics Unscripted by Sanna Kopra: The Arctic Melting, Changing, Contested
The Stockholm School of Economics in Riga invites you to a public lecture, “Geopolitics Unscripted: The Arctic Melting, Changing, Contested,” by Sanna Kopral, Research Professor in Arctic Geopolitics and Security at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland.
The Arctic can feel far away, even on a snowy day. Frozen, out of reach for many, the heart of our planet. But it is melting, changing and finds itself in the centre of geopolitics. Routes, resources, security, and climate are now part of the same conversation. Even Donald Trump has said he wants a piece of it, a reminder that the far Arctic's strategic role, after all, is not such a distant edge on the map.
In our next Geopolitics Unscripted event, we welcome Sanna Kopra, the first Professor of the Arctic, Professor of Geopolitics and Security and head of the Arctic International Relations research team at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland (Finland), and Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute in Washington DC. Her work covers Arctic international affairs, China’s Arctic strategy, and global environmental politics.
Join us for a discussion of a vast, changing, and increasingly contested space!
Sanna Kopra is a Research Professor in Arctic Geopolitics and Security and the head of the Arctic International Relations research team at the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, Finland.
She is also a Senior Fellow at The Arctic Institute – Center for Circumpolar Security Studies in Washington D.C. Her areas of expertise include Arctic international affairs, China’s Arctic strategy, and global environmental politics. She is the author of China and Great Power Responsibility for Climate Change (Routledge 2019) and a co-editor of Chinese Policy and Presence in the Arctic (Brill Publishing 2020).
Currently, Kopra leads two research projects: Rethinking International Relations in an Era of the Planetocene: Case Arctic Ocean Up to 2050 (Research Council of Finland, 2023-2027), and Climate Responsibility as a Cornerstone of Multilateral Cooperation? (Kone Foundation, 2022-2025). In addition, she leads the Arctic Centre's team in an international consortium Transboundary governance models of biodiversity protection: case studies for an enhanced protection of natural resources in Europe (European Biodiversity Partnership; Research Council of Finland, 2024-2026).