Exploring a Nexus of National and Human Security: Food and Energy Challenges in the U.S. Arctic

Changes in the U.S. Arctic are challenging both the national and human security dynamics of the region. Historically, the region’s significance had been defined by national security concerns, but the emerging concept of human security has come to provide a useful framework through which to define and demonstrate the nexus between the two. This paper provides an overview of the relationship between national and human security and the concerns shared by individuals working in both areas, with a more narrowed focus on the interrelated issues of both food and energy security within the U.S. Arctic. Considering the substantial overlap of aspects of food and energy on both national as well as human security, an analysis of the relationships involving each provides meaningful and extended context of the term “security” for the Arctic region.