Alaska is not just a state, it's a geopolitical outpost | Ian Bremmer Explains | GZERO World

As a warming planet causes the Arctic ice cap to melt, Alaska's economic and geopolitical importance has only grown.

Subscribe to GZERO on YouTube and turn on notifications (🔔):    / @gzeromedia  
Sign up for GZERO Daily (free newsletter on global politics): https://rebrand.ly/gzeronewsletter

Amid Russia's growing territorial aggression and a fast-warming Arctic, Alaska's physical place in the world has become more geopolitically relevant than ever. Alaska's northern coastline makes the US one of six countries with exclusive economic zones in the Arctic Circle. And while no country owns the North Pole—it isn't even land—it is constantly shifting sea ice, which is going to melt. But as that happens, the Arctic is opening up, and countries are now racing to lay claim to untapped deposits of oil, natural gas, and rare earth minerals, newly accessible shipping routes, and strategic military positions between North America and Eurasia.

Russia is winning by most metrics. The Russian government has more than three dozen polar icebreakers in its fleet, compared to two, not two dozen, two in the United States, giving it a strategic and operational advantage. Russia accounts for nearly half the Arctic population, more than half its coastline, and the Arctic industry. Moscow has spent years building up military outposts in the region as polar ice melts and its northern waters become exposed.

Russia's also increasing cooperation in the region with China, which sees the Arctic as an important part of its strategic economic and environmental interests. China is believed to be exploring a military presence there. NATO countries suspended political-level meetings with Moscow, and all international research projects have been put on hold. Until Arctic states can find a way to work together, rising tensions and a zero-sum game of territorial ambition will give the most remote part of the planet a lot more of our attention.

Look for the full interview with Governor Mike Dunleavy on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, airing on US public television soon (check local listings.)

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔):    / @gzeromedia  

Want to know more about global news and why it matters? Follow us on:
Instagram:   / gzeromedia  
Twitter:   / gzeromedia  
TikTok:   / gzeromedia  
Facebook:   / gzeromedia  
LinkedIn:   / gzeromedia  
Threads: https://threads.net/@gzeromedia

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔):    / @gzeromedia  
Sign up for GZERO Daily (free newsletter on global politics): https://rebrand.ly/gzeronewsletter
Subscribe to the GZERO podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

GZERO Media is a multimedia publisher providing news, insights and commentary on the events shaping our world. Our properties include GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, our newsletter GZERO Daily, Puppet Regime, the GZERO World Podcast, In 60 Seconds and GZEROMedia.com

#IanExplains #Alaska #Geopolitics