Svalbard lies under the sovereignty of Norway, but the Svalbard Treaty places several restrictions. Norway cannot use the archipelago for warlike purposes, cannot discriminate economic activity based on nationality and is required to conserve the natural environment. Uniquely, Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well. "Regulations concerning rejection and expulsion from Svalbard" is in force on non-discriminatory basis.
Public administration of the archipelago is the responsibility of the Governor of Svalbard, who acts as county governor and chief of police. The institution was established by and is regulated by the Svalbard Act, which also limits which Norwegian laws apply to the islands. Longyearbyen Community Council is the only elected local government and is organized similar to a mainland municipality. Other Norwegian government agencies with a presence are the Directorate of Mining and the Tax Administration. There are two diplomatic mission: one is the Consulate of Russia in Barentsburg and the other the Consulate of Switzerland in Longyearbyen.
The archipelago was spotted in 1596, and soon companies from England, the Netherlands, Denmark–Norway and France were whaling and hunting. Both England and Denmark–Norway claimed the land, while the Dutch and France claimed the mare liberum principle, resulting in Svalbard becoming terra nullius—land without sovereignty. Work on establishing a public administration started in the 1870s, but did not progress until the 1900s, when the establishment of coal mining communities created a more urgent need. The Svalbard Treaty was signed following the Paris Peace Conference in 1920, and the governor and act came into effect in 1925. By then only Norwegian and Russian communities remained.
After the Second World War and the outbreak of the Cold War, Svalbard became polarized with Norwegian and Soviet communities isolated from each other. Norway carried out a more defensive foreign policy on Svalbard compared to on the mainland, and foreign activity was held at a minimum. The Soviet Union issued protests against virtually all new Norwegian activity. At the time there were twice as many Soviet citizens as Norwegians on the islands. More than half the archipelago was conserved in 1973. Since the 1990s Longyearbyen has become "normalized", abandoned the company town structure and seen its population doubled. On the other hand, the Soviet communities have dwindled, with only a few hundred residents remaining in Barentsburg.
In Norwegian parliamentary elections, Norwegian citizens living in Svalbard are registered to vote in the county (and municipality) in which they were last considered resident. On 9 October 2023, the most recent election to the Longyearbyen Community Council, Svalbard's local government, was held. The results of 2023 elections led to the new head of the local council Leif Terje Aunevik from the Liberal Party (Venstre) who replaced Arild Olsen from Labour Party. Liberal Party got 7 seats in the council, while the Labour Party and Socialist Left Party got 3 seats each, and the Conservative Party got 2 seats. Due to the new electoral law, foreigners who haven't spent more than 3 years in mainland Norway, were not allowed to vote in Svalbard. This led to a decrease in votes from 1128 in 2019 to only 808 in 2023 and several dissatisfied residents of Longyearbyen.
History
Terra nullius
Svalbard was undoubtedly spotted by Willem Barentsz of the Netherlands in 1596,Arlov (1994): 9 although it may have previously have been discovered by Norsemen or Pomors.Arlov (1994): 13 The Muscovy Company of England started walrus hunting on Bjørnøya in 1604,Arlov (1994): 16 and from 1611 the company's Jonas Poole started whaling around Spitsbergen. The following year the Muscovy Company sent a new expedition, but was met by both Dutch and Spanish whalers. The company claimed exclusive rights to the area and sent away the contenders. In 1613, seven armed English ships were sent on an expedition that expelled a few dozen Dutch, Spanish and French vessels.
This led to an international political conflict. The Dutch rejected exclusive rights for the English, claiming the mare liberum principle. Christian IV claimed that Denmark–Norway had the rights to all of the Northern Sea in lieu of Greenland being an old Norwegian tax-land, and it was believed at the time by all parties that Spitsbergen was part of Greenland. England offered to purchase the rights from Denmark–Norway in 1614, but the offer was rejected, after which the English reverted to their exclusive rights claim. Denmark–Norway sent three men-of-war in 1615 to collect taxes from English and Dutch whalers, but all refused to pay.Arlov (1994): 18
The English claimed sovereignty based on the false claim that Svalbard was discovered by Hugh Willoughby in 1553, that James I had annexed it in 1614 and that it was the English who had started whaling. The Netherlands stated that whaling could not be the basis for claiming sovereignty. The issue ended in a political deadlock, with Denmark–Norway and England both claiming sovereignty and France, the Netherlands and Spain claiming the archipelago a free zone under mare liberum.Arlov (1994): 19 Although Denmark–Norway never formally gave up its claim to Svalbard, the archipelago continued to be a terra nullius—a land without a government.Arlov (1994): 60
The English and Dutch partitioned the island in 1614, as the aggression was hampering the profitability of both groups. That year the Netherlands created Noordsche Compagnie as a whaling cartel. After the Muscovy Company fell into financial difficulties some years later, the Noordsche Compagnie got the upper hand and was able to dominate the whaling and fend off the English. The company established itself in the northwestern corner of Spitsbergen (around Albert I Land) and only permitted a limited Danish presence. The English whaled further south, while the French were allocated to the north coast and the open sea. From the 1630s, the situation stabilized, and there were only a limited number of aggressive incidents.Arlov (1994): 20 By the end of the 18th century, whaling had ceased as the bowhead whale had reached local extinction.Arlov (1994): 32
Establishing jurisdiction Work on establishing an administration was initiated by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1871. After contacting the invested governments, he concluded that only Russia and Norway would object to an annexation of the island. Fridtjof Nansen's endeavors raised the Norwegian public's consciousness of the Arctic, which again brought forth public support for annexation of Svalbard.Arlov (1994): 62 Industrialization and permanent settlements on Svalbard began in the 1900s with the introduction of coal mining.Arlov (1994): 52 This resulted in the need for jurisdiction. Firstly, there was no means to make a mining claim legal. Secondly, there was a need for conflict resolution, particularly regarding labor conflicts, which often saw the mining company and the workers have different nationalities.Arlov (1994): 63
The Government of Norway took initiative in 1907 for negotiations between the involved states. Multilateral conferences were held in 1910, 1912 and 1914, all of which proposed various types of joint rule.Arlov (1994): 64 The breakthrough came at the Paris Peace Conference following the First World War. Germany and Russia had both been excluded, while Norway enjoyed much goodwill after its neutral ally policy during the war and was at the same time seen as harmless. The Svalbard Treaty of 9 February 1920 granted Norway full sovereignty over Svalbard, although with two major limitations: all parties to the treaty had equal rights to economic resources, and the archipelago was not to be used for "warlike purposes".Arlov (1994): 65
After significant political debate, a proposal to establish Svalbard as a dependency and administrate it from Tromsø was rejected. Instead the Svalbard Act specified that the islands would be administered by the Governor of Svalbard and were considered "part of the Kingdom of Norway", although not regarded as a county. The islands had until then been known as the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and it was at this time the term Svalbard was introduced. The legislation took effect on 14 August 1925.Arlov (1994): 68 A mining code was passed in 1925, and by 1927 all mining claims, some of which conflicted, were resolved.Arlov (1994): 70 All unclaimed land was taken over by the Government of Norway. Although the Soviet Union was initially skeptical to the treaty, its government was willing to sign in exchange for a Norwegian recognition of the Soviet regime.Arlov (1994): 71 Until the Second World War, both the governor and the Commissioner of Mining were a single person, stationed on the mainland during the winter.Arlov (1994): 72
Cold War Mining fell into an economic slump during the 1920s, resulting in several of the mining communities being closed. By the 1930s only Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani and the Soviet state-owned Arktikugol were left, which led to a bilateralization of politics. The archipelago was evacuated during the Second World WarArlov (1994): 74 and the major settlements leveled by Germany during Operation Zitronella.Arlov (1994): 75 The Soviet Union proposed in 1944 that Svalbard become a condominium under joint Norwegian and Soviet rule, except for Bjørnøya, which would be transferred to the Soviet Union.Arlov (1994): 76 Although the proposal was discussed in Norway, it was ultimately rejected in 1947.Arlov (1994): 78 The Norwegian and Russian communities were largely built independent of each other and each had their own infrastructure, such as postal service, radio stations and transport. The Norwegian population stabilized at about 1,000 people, while there were about twice as many Soviets.Arlov (1994): 79
The political tension between Norway and the Soviet Union became heated after Norway joined NATO in 1949. The Soviet Union issued memorandums to Norway stating that Svalbard could not be under a NATO joint command, but this was rejected by Norway, and the issue laid at rest. A new protest was issued in 1958 after Norsk Polar Navigasjon proposed building a private airport at Ny-Ålesund, which was then actively opposed by the Norwegian government in order to not agitate the Soviet Union.Arlov (1994): 80 New protests were issued against the establishment of the European Space Research Organization's Kongsfjord Telemetry Station, although the protests did not stop construction. A compromise about a Norwegian civilian airport was reached in 1971Arlov (1994): 81 and Svalbard Airport, Longyear opened in 1975, serving both Soviet and Norwegian towns.Arlov (1994): 82