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Abstract

This speech was presented at the EU Delegation to the United States’ 2026 Schuman Challenge. The Schuman Challenge is an academic competition for U.S. undergraduate students to debate transatlantic issues, judged by a panel of stakeholders. The prompt for this speech was to create a policy that analyzes a current issue area in the E.U.-U.S. transatlantic relationship and suggests ways to strengthen it in the years ahead. Our policy, POLAR, the Partnership for Observation, Leadership, and Arctic Resilience, establishes a neutral, AI-enabled early-warning and consultation mechanism hosted within the International Maritime Organization (IMO). By institutionalizing shared situational awareness, structured clarification procedures, and rapid technical consultation, POLAR transforms ambiguity into process. This policy introduces four prongs: a shared monitoring dashboard, tiered risk alerts, a 72-hour clarification window, and a rapid technical consultation. The POLAR initiative aims to alleviate miscommunication and suspicion among Arctic actors, a region of increasing geopolitical importance.

Faculty Advisor

Professor Abi Smith

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