A dam Grydehøj (2013) ‘Informal Diplomacy in Norway ’s Svalbard Policy: The Intersection of Local Community Development and Arctic International Relations’, Global Peace, Change and Security, 26(1). DOI: 10.1080/14781158.2014.856290 Informal Diplomacy in Norway’s Svalbard Policy: The Intersection of Local Community Development and Arctic International Relations Adam Grydehøj Island Dynamics, Copenhagen, Denmark Adam Grydehøj Island Dynamics, Denmark Email: agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org / Tel.: + 45 5340 1982 Informal diplomacy in Norway’s Svalbard policy: the intersection of local community development and Arctic international relations The Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is under a limited form of Norwegian sovereignty and its settlements – among the northernmost in the world – are sites of activity by a range of states, most notably Russia. Norway’s Svalbard policy has historically focused on marginalising Russian influence. Through the use of informal diplomacy involving the creation of an economically diverse town (Longyearbyen, population around 2070) and the promotion of scientific research, Norway is consolidating its control over the archipelago. At the same time, however, it risks losing authority within Svalbard due to the strengthening of local democracy in Longyearbyen and the increasing opportunities in Svalbard for the involvement of non-traditional Arctic actors such as the Asian economic powers. This article considers the historical basis for the present situation in Svalbard as well as the complex results of Norway’s attempt to achieve its foreign policy through informal diplomacy. Keywords: Arctic international relations; informal diplomacy; Svalbard; Norway; scientific diplomacy; community development This is an electronic version of an article published in Grydehøj, Adam (2013) ‘Informal Diplomacy in Norway’s Svalbard Policy: The Intersection of Local Community Development and Arctic International Relations’, Global Peace, Change and Security, Vol. 26, No. 1. Global Peace, Change and Security is available online at: www.tandfonline.com. The official version of this article is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14781158.2014.856290. .