Relationship dossier
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
United States
Relationship assessment
United States policy toward Svalbard is shaped by the Spitsbergen Treaty; Svalbard and Jan Mayen are governed by Norway.
Svalbard and Jan Mayen toward United States
Not assessedUnited States toward Svalbard and Jan Mayen
+15The United States is a party to the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty, recognizing Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard and accepting treaty provisions that grant nationals of signatory states certain rights there. Svalbard and Jan Mayen have no independent foreign policy.
Overall relationship
Not assessedHow to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Svalbard and Jan Mayen are Norwegian territories and do not conduct an independent foreign policy. The United States is a party to the 1920 Spitsbergen Treaty, which recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard and provides treaty-based rights for nationals of signatory states. This arrangement concerns Svalbard, not Jan Mayen.
Key developments
The United States became a party to the Spitsbergen Treaty, recognizing Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard and establishing rights for nationals of signatory states.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of United States government activity specifically concerning Svalbard beyond the treaty framework is unclear.
- United States policy or bilateral arrangements specifically concerning Jan Mayen are unclear.