Arctic governance through discourse: Arctic and Arctic council observer states

This article examines how Arctic governance is discursively constituted through national Arctic policy and strategy documents and how these discursive constructions differentiate governance roles between Arctic states and Arctic Council observer states. Rather than treating national strategies as neutral policy instruments, the study conceptualizes them as political texts that articulate authority, responsibility, and legitimacy within an asymmetrical governance system. Methodologically, the article employs qualitative discourse analysis of the most recent official Arctic strategies of eight Arctic states and twelve observer states. Using MAXQDA (version 24), the analysis is organized around six thematic domains: security policy; climate change and environment; international cooperation; resource management; Indigenous peoples and rights; and economic development and sustainability. The findings reveal a high degree of discursive convergence across both actor groups, particularly around climate change, sustainability, environmental protection, and cooperation. However, this convergence does not indicate substantive policy alignment or egalitarian governance. Arctic states frame governance through narratives of sovereignty, stewardship, and regulatory responsibility, while observer states construct legitimacy through scientific contribution, multilateralism, and normative alignment. The article argues that discursive convergence can function as a kind of governance infrastructure that enables participation while tending to stabilize asymmetrical authority.