The Arctic Five are the five littoral states bordering the Arctic Ocean: Canada, The Kingdom of Denmark (through Greenland and the Faroese Islands), Norway, The Russian Federation and the United States of America.

Competing narratives exist regarding international governance of the Arctic. There is debate over whether the principal actors should be the Arctic Five, the Arctic Council (the Arctic Five plus Finland, Iceland and Sweden) or a larger group of states. In 2008, the Arctic Five concluded the Ilulissat Declaration causing concern among those not invited. The Arctic Council is perhaps the most important of the bodies involved in Arctic governance. In a briefing note prepared for the 2016 Arctic Yearbook, Andreas Kuersten acknowledges a widespread view that the Arctic Five is usurping the Arctic Council's central position, but concludes that the two groups can complement one another in positive ways.

The politics and disputes in the region are not only negotiated through the Arctic Council, but also through bi- and multilateral cooperation as the Ilulissat Declaration within the A5. Another mention worthy example of cooperation outside of the Arctic Council is the Whisky War between two allies, Denmark and Canada. 1973 Denmark and Canada signed a treaty delimitating their border in the water between the east coast of Greenland and the western/northern coast of Canada. The border crossed right through Tartupaluk (Hans Island), a small uninhabited island. The dispute continued for decades, as the Danish and Canadian naval forces planted their national flags and placed a bottle of local liquor on the island occasionally. By 2022 both countries signed a deal splitting the island in half and ending the dispute peacefully.

The Arctic Council consists of eight member states including the A5. The council was formally established on 19 September 1996 with the signing of the Ottawa Declaration by the United States, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Today the council furthermore consists of six permanent participant groups representing the indigenous people in the arctic and 38 observers, of which 13 are non-arctic observation states, including states as India, China, The Netherlands etc.

The signing of the Ilulissat Declaration and the exclusion of the other members and participant groups created a strong reaction from the excluded members of the Arctic Council. Following the incident the remaining Arctic states strengthen their collaboration with other partners, as Island deepened their relationship with China, Sweden initiated a conference at the Nordic Council named "Common Concern for the Arctic", and Finland encouraged the European Union's candidacy as a permanent observer of the Arctic Council. According to scholar Klaus Dodds, this divisiveness between the A5 and the remaining arctic states was later managed through further institutionalization of the Arctic Council, following the first legal binding agreement on search and rescue.

"Two competing conceptions of the Arctic Ocean have circulated since the infamous planting of a Russian flag on the bottom of the seabed in 2007. Ideas of a "scramble for territory" depended on accepting that the Arctic Ocean was a "terra nullius" or belonging to no one." In the aftermath of the Russian flag planting in 2007, regional stability in the Arctic Ocean was challenged. The planting created headlines in international media and prominent politicians and ministers from the Arctic Ocean states reacted heavily. Canadian Foreign Minister at the time Peter MacKay stated, "this isn't the fifteenth century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say, 'We're claiming this territory.'" Even though the Canadians did themselves on Tartupaluk (Hans Island).

The planting created what some scholars refer to as "the scramble for territory", as the planting created a new era for dispute and fear for increased militarization in the region as states would once again compete for territory. According to a classical realist theory in International Relations, states are driven by self-interest and maximization of power, which in terms of interstate dispute could lead to armed conflict. The Russian flag planting fits well within this theory, as Russia tried to gain sovereignty on the North Pole, and thereby the sole rights to the resources in the area. On the opposite side, the Ilulissat Declaration was a step away from a potential escalation of the situation, with the A5 obligating to The United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and peaceful settlement of territory in the region. According to another theory in International Relations, securitization is the movement of "normal politics" into the realm of militarization and interstate conflicts, whereas desecuritization is the movement back into the sphere of "normal politics". In the light of this theory, The Ilulissat Declaration can be viewed as a desecuritization act, as the regional instability was handled through democratic ethos (though criticized for excluding the remaining members of the Arctic Council) pursuing a peaceful solution to the situation and the commitment to international law and science.

The A5 were the sole partners of the Ilulissat Declaration, and by those means the spearhead for desecuring the situation in the Arctic Ocean. But as stated in the Ilulissat Declaration, the A5 will continue to work together in other forums, including the Arctic Council, which, as stated by Klaus Dodds, successfully managed to institutionalize the council and thereby providing continued cooperation in the region both within the A5 and the Arctic Council.