It’s no surprise...that many analysts think the Antarctic Treaty can serve as a template to solve modern-day territorial disputes. But how realistic is that?
The Antarctic Treaty was negotiated between May 1958 and June 1959, an impressively short period of time given formidable geopolitical issues that needed to be addressed: the status of sovereign claims and Cold War competition.
Stories of animal migration to Antarctica, such as yalingbila, are reminders of global Indigenous connections to the frozen continent. As our kin traverse Antarctic waters, they too connect with the myriad creatures carving a living out of the ice.
Antarctica has withstood many acquisitive claims. If the era of the Antarctic Treaty has ostensibly elevated the idea of co-operation as humanity’s guiding ideal in the south, possessive urges tenaciously remain.