Michel Foucault described discourses as being created in specific times and by specific positions, which as a result set the boundaries for what can be spoken of in a specific setting and what cannot. The way discourses are developed means that they may not be accurate to all those who are purportedly described or defined by them. This chapter addresses this discrepancy by examining ‘the Arctic’ as discourse – as a region-building, spatial description that has developed based on conceptions that are historically and positionally specific, and that guides our understanding and the decisions we take without necessarily being relevant to all the areas it is applied to today. The chapter discusses the importance of discourse and region-building as perspectives in understanding international development in relation to the ‘Arctic’, drawing on examples from Canadian Nordicity and northern discourses as well as Arctic region-building and European Union Arctic policy development.