Arctic Strategic Competition Dynamics Course: 27-01 ASCDC

Arctic Strategic Competition Dynamics Course (ASCDC)

ASCDC is a three-day, 21-hour executive education course examines how strategic competition between major powers shapes Arctic security dynamics, with particular focus on the evolving nature of great power relations in the High North. The curriculum analyzes how China’s “pacing challenge” and Russia’s aggressive posture, manifested in their “no limits friendship,” affects Arctic stability through coordinated activities across multiple domains – including military operations, economic initiatives, technological development, and gray zone actions. Special attention is given to how this strategic partnership challenges established regional norms and institutions while creating new security dilemmas for Arctic states. The course explores how Allied and Partner responses, including NATO expansion, economic sanctions, and emerging security arrangements, are reshaping Arctic security architecture. It also examines how other Arctic-interested states navigate these dynamics through various approaches to alignment and nonalignment.