Arctic Outlook
On a recent five-month stint in Iceland, Becca Pincusgathered an earful of off-the-record information from current and retired Icelandic diplomats about different periods in the U.S.-Iceland relationship. On a Fulbright grant supported by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she researched power dynamics in the Arctic region between large and small countries, and taught at the University of Iceland. Her research focused on “how Iceland as a small state seeks to influence the U.S. I also studied differences in the formulation and pursuit of Arctic foreign policy objectives between large and small states, using the U.S.-Iceland comparison,” Pincus says.
Part of her role in supporting the Coast Guard’s strategic objectives in the Arctic region is to expand partnerships. “I try to connect the Coast Guard with academic and nongovernmental communities, in particular the Arctic community of scholars and stakeholders,” says Pincus, a civilian Coast Guard employee. She’s teaching at the academy, in New London, Conn., in a two-year, rotating-chair position. In addition to conducting research on Arctic security issues, she teaches Arctic policy, maritime policy and environmental policy.