Transportation infrastructure and security implications in Alaska’s North: the case of the expanded port in Nome

Over the past few decades, scholars have expanded the conceptualization of security beyond traditional nation-state and military definitions to include a variety of dimensions related to people and communities. Concurrent to these developments, the Arctic has endured a host of environmental and geopolitical changes that have had diverse and significant security implications for the region. We draw insight from the human security and securitization literature to inform a framework to identify security challenges and tradeoffs by level and type. Levels include the local, regional, national, and international, while types include physical, military, economic, environmental, and cultural security. The framework then serves as a lens to identify security challenges in Alaska’s North and analyze some security tradeoffs of new transportation infrastructure developments in the region by focusing on the case of the current expanded port project in Nome, Alaska. The case shows how the attempt to address some security concerns could elicit other challenges. To minimize the potentially detrimental impacts of new transportation infrastructure projects, leaders should consult a wide range of stakeholders who offer diverse security perspectives.