As global competition for critical minerals intensifies, the Arctic is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s most strategically significant regions. Often described as the “next frontier” of resource geopolitics, the High North holds vast reserves of rare earth elements and other minerals essential to the green transition, advanced technologies, and defence industries.

This report launch examines the growing scramble for the Arctic and asks a pressing question: how can the West secure access to these critical resources in a way that is economically viable, geopolitically strategic, and environmentally sustainable?

The discussion will explore the risks of continued dependency on authoritarian suppliers, the evolving roles of Russia and China in the region, and the practical steps Western governments and industry must take to develop responsible extraction, strengthen partnerships with Arctic states, and ensure that sustainability remains central to long-term strategy.

Graeme Downie MP

Graeme Downie attended Craigmount High School in Edinburgh before reading Politics at the University of Stirling, graduating in 2002. He was one of the first in his family to attend university. Graeme spent some of his childhood in Berlin during the cold war, and witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall helped to guide his politics.

Prior to his election to Parliament, he was elected as Councillor for West Fife and Coastal Villages and Health Spokesperson in the Labour-led Fife Council administration He initially stood down from his role as Health Spokesperson but continued as a councillor then announced his resignation on 4 September 2024.

He spent 20 years owning and setting up small businesses in the communications sector. Graeme has a keen interest in UK Defence, German Relations and Aviation.

Robert Clark 

Robert Clark is a Visiting Fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, and a Fellow at the Yorktown Institute, Washington DC. Prior to this Robert was the Director of Defence and Security at Civitas, and a Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society’s Global Britain program. Robert served in the British Army for ten years, and has an MA (Distinction) in War Studies, from King’s College, London, where his thesis researched the emerging security dilemma in the Arctic.

Dr John Hemmings

Dr John Hemmings  is the inaugural Director for the National Security Centre at the Henry Jackson Society. Dr Hemmings as more than 18 years in think tanks in the UK and US, focusing on national security, defence, and security issues that connect the Euro-Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific. He previously worked at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS), a US Department of War regional centre based in Hawaii where he focused on security in the Indo-Pacific and defence industrial multilateralism.

He has also worked at the Pacific Forum and at the Royal United Services Institute, in programme, research, and management positions. He has been a witness to two Parliamentary Inquiries, and provided advice to the Cabinet Office, BEIS, and the Department of Business and Trade on economic statecraft and investment security. He has also provided briefings to various components of the US Department of War and the State Department. Dr Hemmings’ analysis and commentary regularly features in the Telegraph, the FT, the BBC, CNN and Fox News, and he has been published in various academic and security-related peer-reviewed journals.

Dr Hemmings is an Adjunct Professor at the DKI-APCSS and a senior adviser at the Pacific Forum. He earned his doctorate in International Relations at the London School of Economics in 2017.

Dr Helena Ivanov

Dr Helena Ivanov is an Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. She recently completed a PhD in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research focuses on the relationship between propaganda and violence against civilians. In her thesis, Helena examined the role propaganda played during the Yugoslav Wars and produced a model for studying propaganda which details the key phases, functions, discourses, and techniques of propaganda (the model itself is applicable to other contexts). Additionally, Helena also served as a Manager at the Centre for International Studies at the LSE.

Prior to her PhD, Helena completed an MPhil in Political Theory at the University of Oxford, and holds a BA in Politics from the University of Belgrade.

Please note this event will be online. To register for the event, please, CLICK HERE.