Summary:

Aiming to contribute to further research on the Norwegian Coast Guard in the High North in general, and exploring how its role has changed in particular, this master thesis examines the developing maritime security situation in the High North after 2014, while analysing the strategic and operational implications of the Norwegian Coast Guard’s role change. What is evident, in sum, is how the High North strategic prominence has increased and that both NATO’s and Russia’s threat perception have exacerbated military presence and military build-up in the High North. As a result of their mutual determent, containment and coercion, Norwegian High North politics have become security-oriented, advocating the militarization of the Norwegian Coast Guard. What emerges from the securitization of the High North is a Norwegian doctrine of being NATO in the North, leading to Norwegian Coast Guard participation in military operations at the expense of jurisdictional tasks.