The Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction by Klaus Dodds

Author:Klaus Dodds [Dodds, Klaus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780199697687
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2012-12-15T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Governing the Antarctic

In the midst of a worsening Cold War, the signing and entering into force of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty was a notable achievement. This treaty established a framework for the demilitarization of the Antarctic and the promotion of international cooperation, especially in the field of science. Article 4, as noted earlier, ensured that no new claims to polar territory were to be asserted while the treaty was in force. For the chief architect of the treaty, the United States, this framework was praised for ‘containing all the provisions which the US believed were required for the protection of its national interest and as setting a precedent in the field of disarmament, prohibition of nuclear explosions, and the law of space’. On ratifying the treaty, American senators recognized that with the promotion of scientific cooperation, freedom of access, and peaceful usages of the Antarctic, there was no immediate need for a territorial claim.

Upon the Treaty’s entry into force in June 1961, the Antarctic became the world’s first nuclear-free zone, and provided inspiration for further denuclearizing initiatives elsewhere. Moreover, the treaty placed peaceful cooperation and scientific collaboration as the core business of the signatories, later to be termed Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs). Governing by consensus is the sine qua non of those parties. Together, the treaty and subsequent instruments such as the Convention on the Conservation of Living Resources (entry into force, 1982) and the Protocol on Environmental Protection (entry into force, 1998) all make up the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Science is frequently described as the core activity, and indicative of ongoing cooperation amongst the parties, subject to no restrictions on location of activity. A constellation of agreements continues to strive to conserve, preserve, and protect the Antarctic terrestrial and marine environments.

These features explain a great deal when it comes to the longevity of the Antarctic Treaty. In the last few years, a number of events, including a high-profile Antarctic Treaty Summit hosted by the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, DC, have celebrated the capacity and willingness of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties to govern the Antarctic. At the joint session of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties Meeting and the Arctic Council in April 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reminded her audience that:

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