Antarctic South American Geopolitics recent developments

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Recent Developments

In terms of our geopolitical considerations, there are grounds for optimism and pessimism in Antarctica.

On the positive side, Antarctica is the largest and perhaps the first “zone of peace” and demilitarized/denuclearized region in the world. There have been no armed confrontations since the Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits military operations, took effect in 1961. One excellent example of the demilitarized nature of Antarctica occurred during the 1982 Anglo-Argentine Malvinas/Falklands War, which began and ended close to Antarctica on the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. These two Islands, which experienced minor combat operations, are outside the Treaty area. In contrast, there was no armed confrontation in the South Orkney Islands, which are just inside the Treaty’s coverage and which have both a British and an Argentine research station. There seems to be a strong spirit of cooperation in the field, as exemplified by the proposed joint Argentine-Chilean expedition to the South Pole. Additional Latin American nations have signed the Treaty (Cuba, Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, for a total of 43 nations), although there is little likelihood that their Antarctic presence will be more than the occasional visit to an existing station. The “mother country” of Spain has taken a more active role in Antarctica under the rubric of an “Ibero-American Antarctica” and has established a permanent station. There have been no new claims (prohibited to signatories of the Antarctic Treaty), and the 1991 benchmark, which could have permitted modifications and withdrawals from the Treaty, passed without any change, even though some nations have expressed dissatisfaction with the Treaty.

On the negative side there has been concern that the delicate ecological balance in Antarctica may be suffering under the effects of global warming which are apparently causing a drop in populations of certain species, such as the penguins. The “ozone hole” in the protective layer over Antarctica continues to be problematic, especially for Argentina and Chile, which have the two cities in the world which are closest to the “hole”. Likewise, tourism is seen as something of a double-edged sword: it can create “ambassadors” for Antarctica, but the number of tourists (perhaps 20.000 next year) is probably exceeding the safe carrying capacity of the relatively few Antarctic sites favored by wildlife, the scientists and the tourists . Any ecological assessment must also include the danger of major damage to the environment and the many species because of oil spills. The 1991 Madrid moratorium on mining is another positive step which will prohibit mining for 50 years, although the pessimists argue that if something really valuable and needed is found (such as oil) countries (perhaps led by a non-Treaty nation) or trans-national corporations will find a hole in the Treaty which will allow them to exploit the resource.

The increased number of tourists traveling in ships not designed for the Antarctic Ice, even in summer, raises the possibility of accidents with dire consequences for the tourists as well as the environment. In the past few years there have been several cases of ships in trouble requiring assistance from either Chilean or Argentine ice-hardened ships and ice-breakers designed for the environment: in June 2002 a German transport, which was carrying Russian scientists, got stuck in the ice and had to be rescued by helicopters from South Africa, assisted by an Argentine Navy ice-breaker . A few months later the cruise ship Clipper Adventurer had to be rescued by Chileans after grounding.

Recently there has been some squabbling over the creation and location of a permanent Secretariat for the Antarctic Treaty System, which up to now has no such office to provide continuity and logistical support. The United Kingdom and Argentina were the two strongest contenders for the site, although Chile agued that it should host the site lest its Antarctic claim lose some of its legitimacy.

Despite the noticeable decline in South American geopolitical writings in the last decade, which presumably is due to the election of civilian governments to replace authoritarian military regimes, geopolitical thinking and the dissemination of those ideas via the schools, media and books and articles continues to be significant, especially in two countries with key roles in the dynamics of Antarctic politics: Argentina and Chile, followed by Brazil. The last two decades have seen the replacement of geopolitics by “geo-economics”, as South American nations experiment with free-market economies. Debate on MERCOSUR, NAFTA, and the FTAA seems far more important than squabbling over the limits of one’s claimed Antarctic territory, which is very likely to continue under the Antarctic Treaty regime where claims are frozen and the continent becomes increasingly internationalized.

Ecological concerns and the possibility of an international “Antarctic Environmental Protection Agency” under the aegis of a permanent Antarctic Treaty Secretariat would seem to be able to overcome the old geopolitical and geostrategic ideas which defined much of southern South America’s approaches to Antarctica. But regardless of the eventual outcome of major Antarctic issues, geopolitical thinking in the Southern Cone nations, closely tied to nationalism and chauvinistic patriotism, will continue to influence Antarctic policies and activities of these nations, and deserves consideration for this reason.

References: Child, Jack. "Le Mani Sull'Antartide", Limes - Rivista Italiana di Geopolitica, 4/2003, pp. 193-204

Ice Cap News (American Society of Polar Philatelists), issues for 2002-2005.