During the East-West conflict, the Arctic became one of the world’s most militarised regions. Strategic submarines cruised the north polar sea. Long-range bombers and intercontinental missiles, whose routes would have led over the North Pole, were to see to nuclear deterrence. Today, there is a chance to establish a nuclear-free zone in the Arctic. The Antarctic Treaty offers a model for demilitarisation. The establishment of nuclear-free zones in other regions of the world made it possible that nuclear states do not have to take the initiative. Lessons are
also to be learned from other nuclear-free zones. If civil society exerts pressure, and countries without nuclear weapons lead the way, the United States and Russia could follow.