The theme of this year's edition is "Governing and Governance", including a comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed articles under the following sections: local, sub-national and national governance; Arctic regional governance; and international and global governance. Topics include issues such as energy resources, sustainable development, maritime affairs, foreign policy making, identities and indigenous self-determination, environmental regimes, Arctic Council politics, multi-level institutions, state and non-state cooperation, and security and defense policy.

The 2015 Arctic Yearbook  includes 19 scholarly articles, 16 expert commentaries, and 7 briefing notes, from 68 authors from 18 countries. It is open access.

The Arctic Yearbook is the outcome of the Northern Research Forum and Thematic Network (TN) on Geopolitics and Security.