2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study of Cold War History-A Development of the Cold War in the Arctic Ocean
| Project/Area Number |
15530108
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
International relations
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| Research Institution | Tokai University |
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Principal Investigator |
IKEGAMI Keisuke Tokai University, School of Letters, Associate Professor, 文学部, 助教授 (40307294)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
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| Keywords | History of International Relations / Cold War History / Regional Study on Scandinavia / Arctic Circle / Nordic-American-Soviet Relations |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to analyze how the Cold War structure was developed in the Arctic Ocean. The investigator presented a case study on the Soviet-Norwegian disputes over the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
In November 1944, the Soviet commissar for foreign affairs V. Molotov presented the Norwegian government with strong demands for a change in the international legal status of Svalbard, such as an abrogation of the Svalbard Treaty etc.. The motives behind Molotov's proposals were to establish the military bases on Svalbard and Northern Norway in order to safeguard the sea-route for free movements of the Soviet Northern Fleet and the supply-line to the northern parts of Russia. This Soviet demarche was clearly reflected by the concern of security to the country and by the hope that the Arctic Ocean around the Svalbard archipelago could be a Soviet sphere of influence.
The United States' and the United Kingdom's interest in the Svalbard issue was very limited. At the time of 1945 they recognized that Svalbard was not of economic or military-strategic importance. Their lack of interest in Svalbard led the Soviet Union to believe that the Arctic Ocean around the Svalbard archipelago was not a western sphere of influence. But as the United States' efforts to acquire the right to permanent military bases on Greenland and Iceland in the Arctic Ocean became remarkable, the Soviet policy on Svalbard was linked to the issue on the American military deployment to the Arctic region. And it forced the Soviet government to switch to the policy of status quo on Svalbard because the Soviet Union feared that its further pressure on Norway could supply the Americans with additional arguments in support of their demand for the military bases in Greenland and Iceland.
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