China’s Changing Arctic Policy from a Critical Geopolitical Perspective

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 17 Sayı: 32, 306 - 319, 30.05.2025

Ayşe Gülsüm Çalık

https://doi.org/10.20990/kilisiibfakademik.1639944

Öz

Purpose: The Arctic is one of the regions most affected by climate change. Its global impact is increasing every year as the region's glaciers melt, exposing underground resources and opening up sea routes. In parallel, China, one of the world's largest industrial powers, is increasing the importance of the Arctic in its foreign policy every year. This study analyses the historical origins of China's Arctic policy and its relations with the United States and Russia.
Design/Methodology: The study analyses China's Arctic foreign policy from the perspective of critical geopolitics and discourse analysis. The study analyses China's transformation from a ‘common space for all the peoples of the world’ to a ‘near-Arctic country’ in its early years.
Findings: As a result of analysing China's Arctic policy from a critical geopolitical perspective, it was found that there were breaks in foreign policy in 2013 and 2018. Accordingly, while until 2013, China had a discourse based on the fact that all the people of the world have the right to what the Arctic has in 2013, with the acquisition of the observer member status of the Arctic Council for the first time, it started to state that it desired the opportunity to manage it together with the coastal states. In 2018, which is the second breaking point, both the announcement of the Arctic foreign policy document for the first time and the ideal of creating a nuclear icebreaker fleet show that it wants to be one of the assertive and active actors of the region.
Limitations: Due to the scope of the study, the main limitation is that China's bilateral relations with regional states other than the US and Russia cannot be discussed in more detail.
Originality/Value: Despite the increase in the number of studies on the Arctic Region, it has been observed that the importance of the region in Chinese foreign policy has been addressed in a limited number of studies. In this context, this study is of unique value as it aims to provide a detailed analysis of China's Arctic policy from a critical geopolitical perspective.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Arctic , China , Critical Geopolitics , Energy , Sea Routes

Eleştirel Jeopolitik Perspektiften Çin’in Değişen Arktik Politikası

Öz

Öz
Amaç: İklim değişikliğinden en çok etkilenen bölge olan Arktik, bölgede yer alan devletlerin dışında diğer devletlerin de dikkatini çekmektedir. Özellikle sahip olduğu yer altı kaynakları ve geleneksel deniz yollarının en önemli alternatifleri olarak kabul edilen deniz yollarıyla küresel çaptaki etkisi her geçen yıl artmaktadır. Bununla paralel olarak dünyanın en büyük sanayi gücü olarak Çin de dış politikasında Arktik’e verdiği önemi her yıl arttırmaktadır. Çalışmada Çin’in Arktik politikasının tarihsel kökenleri ve bölge devletlerinden Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve Rusya ile olan ilişkilerinin analizi yapılmaktadır.
Tasarım/Yöntem: Çalışma Çin’in Arktik Bölgesi dış politikasını eleştirel jeopolitik perspektifinden ve söylem analizi metoduyla incelemiştir. İlk dönemlerinde Arktik “tüm dünya insanlarının ortak alanı” anlayışını savunan Çin’in “yakın Arktik ülkesi” anlayışına dönüşümü analiz edilmektedir.
Bulgular: Çin’in Arktik politikasının eleştirel jeopolitik bakış açısıyla incelenmesi sonucunda 2013 ve 2018 yıllarında dış politikada kırılmalar olduğuna ulaşılmıştır. Buna göre 2013 yılına kadar Çin’i Arktik’in sahip olduklarından tüm dünya insanlarının hakkı olduğuna dayalı söylemi varken 2013 yılında ilk defa Arktik Konseyi gözlemci üye statüsünü kazanması ile birlikte kıyısı olan devletlerle birlikte yönetme imkanını arzuladığını belirtmeye başlamıştır. İkinci kırılma noktası olan 2018 yılında hem Arktik dış politika belgesini ilk kez ilan etmesi hem de nükleer buzkıran filosu oluşturma idealini açıklaması bölgenin iddialı ve aktif aktörlerinden biri olmak istediğini göstermektedir.
Sınırlılıklar: Çalışmanın kapsamı gereği Çin’in ABD ve Rusya haricindeki bölge devletleri ile ikili ilişkilerinin daha detaylı ele alınamaması temel sınırlılığı oluşturmaktadır.
Özgünlük/Değer: Arktik Bölgesi ile ilgili yapılan çalışmaların sayısındaki artışa rağmen Çin dış politikasında bölgenin öneminin sınırlı sayıda ele aldığı görülmüştür. Bu bağlamda yapılan çalışma Çin’in Arktik politikasının eleştirel jeopolitik bakış açısıyla detaylı bir analizini sunmayı amaçlamasıyla özgün bir değer oluşturmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Arktik Bölgesi , Çin , Eleştirel Jeopolitik , Enerji , Deniz Yolları

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