The Future of Antarctica: Scenarios from Classical Geopolitics

Antarctica is a magnificent place, a vast area of the planet that has been free fromlarge-scale nation-state conflict from the advent of the age of exploration, whenpioneers like Amundsen, Bellingshausen, Byrd, Mawson, Scott, Shackleton andShirase arrived, to the present day. When the Cold War threatened to extend globaltensions to this region, twelve nations negotiated the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, effectivelysetting aside differences over territorial claims and preventing militarizationover a significant part of the globe. Over time, with participation of many morestates, additional instruments covering environmental protection and marine conservationwere added to create the Antarctic Treaty System. The intention by thesestates was to establish a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”, and as ageneral proposition, the Treaty System has been successful and that vision has beenachieved