The "Actors and patterns of cooperation and conflict" work package is envisaged as having an over-arching character, covering the entire project period, and it will draw extensively on the findings from the other work packages.

The following research problems will be covered:

• Which actors are the most important in the High North? What are the main interests and the impact of the various actors? 
• How and where do the interests of various actors clash, giving rise to conflict or rivalry? To what degree are there perceived common interests among important actors? What alliances or common understandings exist between them?
• How can the complex web of interests be managed through cooperation, dialogue and negotiation, so that constructive and mutually acceptable compromises can be reached?

There is a number fo unsolved issues in the High North which will be more pressing in the near future, as economic activities expand. For example, thre are eight bilateral boundary issues involving all states in the region. Of particular importance to Norway are the issues of the marine delimitation line between Russia and norway and the disareement on various aspects of the Svalbard Treaty. Moreover, the northernmost extension of the continental shelves in the Arctic is not yet decided. 

States, particular the traditional great powers, will play a key role in the region. However, local and reigonal authorities, NGOs promoting environmental protection, as wella s indigenous populations, have their own agenas. Commercial interests will grow dramatically in importance. These include large energy companies, many with states ownership, fishing insterests, shipping companies and tourist business. The complex interplay among all these actors will have decisive impact on the geopolitics of the High North in the decades to come.