Centrality in the network of Regional Trade Agreements: Effects on the strategies of the Arctic claimant states

Abstract

This analysis differentiates two Arctic actors, Denmark and Russia, according to their centrality in the global Regional Trade Agreements network and the strength of their ties to other states in this system, in order to determine whether their positions coincide and have been stable throughout the last 24 years. The analysis reveals a significant stable heterogeneity between the Arctic actors not only in all three parameters of centrality (degree centrality, closeness centrality and betweenness centrality), but also in strength of the institutionalized ties these actors are involved in, and identifies the major sources of adjustment of regional (Arctic) policy preferences based on these global positions.