SCANDINAVIA: Russia Reveals Arctic Plans [10 April 2009]

Summary: Russia has released plans to establish a strategic resource base as well as military deployments in the Arctic.

Development: Russia has released a document that outlines an Arctic policy until the year 2020. It says that Russia intends for the Arctic to be the country´s "leading strategic resource base," and that the deployment of troops to the region will serve the purpose of, "ensuring military security." Russia planted a flag under the icecap in 2007 in a symbolic gesture to claim the territory or at least parts of it. There are currently five nations disputing the sovereignty over parts of the Arctic region. Two of those countries are Scandinavian: Norway and Denmark. The other three are the United States, Canada, and Russia.

Analysis: Russia´s aggressive push towards claiming and securing parts of the arctic is understandable from a political perspective. Russia has no major untapped petroleum fields under development and its productive output is in decline. The Arctic is believed to hold over 90 billion barrels of untapped oil, about 13% of world reserves.  Russia´s increased determinism puts pressure on the other four nations, that claim territory in the Arctic, to respond. Recent proposals have been set forth in Scandinavia to increase security and strategic cooperation among the Scandinavian nations. NATO recently held an exercise in Norway dubbed the "Cold Response," to simulate a conflict in the Arctic. This indicates that not only are Norway and the rest of the Scandinavian countries worried, but NATO now sees the area as a potential conflict zone. A tightly knit Nordic cooperation within the framework or at least assistance of NATO seems an attractive remedy to Russia’s growing influence in the North.

[Tryggvi Hjaltason]

SCANDINAVIA: Ethnic Gang War Threatens Denmark [6 March 2009]

Summary: A gang war in Denmark between the Hell’s Angels and immigrant gangs of Muslims is testing the long tradition of tolerance among Danes and runs the risk of escalating into a full scale race war.

Development: In recent months, Denmark has experienced an increase in gang related violence. A gang war has erupted between Denmark’s notorious Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club and gangs that draw their members from Muslim immigrant communities. These gangs are growing in numbers and becoming increasingly involved in criminal activity. Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, has been rocked by over 60 shootings in the last two months. A support groups for the Hell’s Angels, AK81, is rapidly gaining support from Danes who have grown increasingly hostile towards Muslim immigrants, particularly as the immigrants are blamed for increasing incidents of street violence, robberies, and rape. Copenhagen’s Police Force has responded by setting up a task force, but they fear this is not enough. Police authorities in Malmo, Sweden’s closest big city fear that the gang war will spill over to Sweden, where the Hells Angels are also established. Denmark’s Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen has called for anti-gang measures.

Analysis: The Hells Angels is the largest organization in Scandinavia.  Although they publicly claim to be only a motorcycle club, they have been involved in drug trafficking and violent crimes for years. Denmark, Sweden, and Norway’s open immigration policies over the last two decades have resulted in a massive increase of Middle Eastern immigrants. Over the last few years, clashes between Muslim immigrants and ethnic Scandinavians have been on the rise which has now culminated in Denmark’s gang war. With heightened racial tensions, politicians and the public fear this struggle may escalate spreading throughout Scandinavia. Much of the violence can be attributed to complications arising from Muslim assimilation in Scandinavia. Politics in both Sweden and Denmark are being driven by support for anti-immigration laws and stricter judicial standards for immigrants. If Mikkelsen’s anti-gang measures and Copenhagen’s police task force are unable to contain the situation, there is a possibility these gang wars will spread throughout Scandinavia.

[Tryggvi Hjaltason]