The aim of this study is to analyse the development of Arctic policies in three countries: Denmark, Canada and Iceland. Climate change in the Arctic region acts as a catalyst for change in several other areas. In all three countries there is an ongoing policy development regarding the changing Arctic. all three countries have different geostrategic positions and are also different in many other respects, Canada has declared an ambitious arctic policy. It is not clear how quickly it can be implemented, mainly in view of US -Canadian relations and economic circumstances after the financial crisis. Greenland, a part of Denmark, has recently got its home rule expanded to self-rule, but is still heavily dependent on Denmark for security and economic support. Should Greenland opt to develop self-rule in the direction of full independence, the process will depend primarily on the development of Greenland´s economy and the political will of the Greenlanders themselves. An independent Greenland is probable in the time-span of ten to twenty years. What the character of an independent Greenland would be is hard to determine, but will become an issue for the international community including Greenland´s neighbours. Iceland is not only going through a servere economic crisis, buat her solutions to defence issues (NATO air-policing) is not entirely sufficient relative to the current security situation. In addition, Iceland domestically suffers from an almost existential crisis, mainly brought on by the fast societal modernisation post-World War Two. Iceland´s societal, economical and security crises interact with each other. Whether Iceland, after negotiations and a referendum, will apply for membership in the european Union will be a clear indicator of Iceland´s future direction in international relations. The policies that can be discerned in international relations in the Arctic, where policies and actions of sovereignty assertion are combined with an emphasis on support for multilateral regimes and negotiated solutions, has so far been successful. But issues of mitigation of disputes over overlapping claims still remain as well as what the challenges international diplomacy are facing in the Arctic.