Disappearing ice, Russia’s newest land grab, and a new great game at the top of the world. An FP special report.

The China-U.S. relationship is a daily and recurring, sometimes dominant, news story. Select news has been positive and indicates close collaboration, such as the November 2014 joint announcement on climate and energy initiatives.

Last week, the US became chair of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum for the eight Arctic nations and observer nations as distant from the Arctic as India and Singapore. Most Americans think of Alaska when they think about the Arctic but do not fully appreciate how important the Arctic is to our nation's future. For many decades, the Arctic was primarily a frozen haven for indigenous peoples, polar bears, seals and submarines. But as the Arctic warms at a rate twice that of the rest of the planet, it is becoming more and more accessible to human activity — and that will affect the world's geopolitics and its climate. A region where most assets had been frozen is rapidly become a dash for resources, access and influence.

Russia is in the news, again. NATO ministers continue to discuss how to upgrade their response capabilities to contain Russia, an increasingly unpredictable neighbor, and Pentagon officials advise Congress that Russia is a primary military threat. Could this finally be the end of strong Russia-U.S. cooperation in the one region where our interests have aligned since the end of the Cold War: the Arctic?