Unfrozen
The Fight for the Future of the Arctic
Published on 23. September 2025
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-300-25999-5 (ISBN)
Description
A vital account of the state of the Arctic today-emphasising the twin dangers of climate change and geopolitical competition
Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical contest felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. All the while, global interest is gathering apace as the region transforms from being a frozen desert into an international waterway.
Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds examine the state of the Arctic today, showing how the region is becoming a space of experimentation for everything from Indigenous governance to subsea technologies. Growing geopolitical competition is accompanying environmental disruption. Countries including Russia, China, and the United States are investing in the Arctic and consolidating their interests in strategic access, resource exploitation, and alliance-building.
The consequences of this emerging Arctic Anthropocene are truly global-from rising sea levels due to melting glaciers to tensions between great powers determined to protect their territory and resources, and the well-being of Indigenous Peoples who have fought for centuries for rights and recognition.
Nowhere is the dual threat of climate change and geopolitical contest felt more strongly than in the Arctic. Sea ice is declining rapidly, wildfires are burning, and permafrost is thawing. All the while, global interest is gathering apace as the region transforms from being a frozen desert into an international waterway.
Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds examine the state of the Arctic today, showing how the region is becoming a space of experimentation for everything from Indigenous governance to subsea technologies. Growing geopolitical competition is accompanying environmental disruption. Countries including Russia, China, and the United States are investing in the Arctic and consolidating their interests in strategic access, resource exploitation, and alliance-building.
The consequences of this emerging Arctic Anthropocene are truly global-from rising sea levels due to melting glaciers to tensions between great powers determined to protect their territory and resources, and the well-being of Indigenous Peoples who have fought for centuries for rights and recognition.
Reviews / Votes
"The authors . . . are seriously well informed on Arctic affairs. This excellent book is a highly informative guide to both climate change and security issues."-Michael Burleigh, Literary Review"Mia Bennett and Klaus Dodds deliver a compelling and timely exploration of one of the planet's most rapidly transforming regions. As the Arctic melts-literally and metaphorically, the authors chart the geopolitical, environmental, and cultural upheavals reshaping this once remote frontier into a global hotspot."-Jean-Thomas Nicole, Cipher Brief
"A compelling and timely exploration of one of the planet's most rapidly transforming regions. The authors blend history, science, and strategy with clarity and urgency."-BytesEU
"In this up-to-date and well-informed analysis, two highly regarded members of the Arctic community provide a clear benchmark regarding the state of play in Arctic affairs. All those seeking to understand developments in this dynamic region going forward will want to treat this benchmark as a point of departure."-Oran R. Young, University of California, Santa Barbara
"Unfrozen is an intelligent, bold embrace of the Arctic in the Anthropocene-a truly important contribution to the global discourse about the Arctic. Its lucid analysis gracefully weaves the urgent threats of further militarization and total climatic meltdown with the history of the region and the persistent endeavours of the Arctic peoples."-Martin Breum, author of Cold Rush
"A masterly survey of the history and the changing world of the Arctic with a clear lucid account of historical themes, peoples, exploration and more latterly climate change at the top of the world."-Caroline Kennedy-Pipe, Loughborough University
"Engagingly written and full of fascinating detail, this is the perfect guide to the future of the Arctic."-Chris Armstrong, author of Blue New Deal
"Few books manage to inform, provoke, and enthral in equal measure-but Unfrozen does just that. Bennett and Dodds bring the Arctic to life, not as a distant frontier, but as a living, breathing mosaic of people, politics, and planet. A rare achievement."-Mads Qvist Frederiksen, Arctic Economic Council
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
30 color illus. + 3 maps
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
624 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-300-25999-5 (9780300259995)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Mia Bennett is associate professor of geography at the University of Washington and founder and editor of the blog Cryopolitics. Previously, she taught in the Department of Geography and School of Modern Languages & Cultures (China Studies Programme) at the University of Hong Kong. Klaus Dodds is professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway University of London. He is the author and coauthor of numerous books, including The Arctic: A Very Short Introduction, The Arctic: What Everyone Needs to Know, and Border Wars: The Conflicts of Tomorrow.