International Relations Commons^™

Antarctica - Much Ado About Nothing?, Paul F. Jean, John-Paul Rosario

Bridgewater Review

Since the Antarctic Treaty came into force in 1961, the signatory states have cooperated in the region and international conflicts have not been allowed to intrude. In Antarctica, politics has indeed made for “strange bedfellows”; included among the major treaty states are the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Chile. Yet, Antarctica remains an oasis of stability in spite of the fall of east-west detente, the Falkland/Malvinas Conflict and until recently, a simmering dispute between Chile and Argentina over rights in the Beagle Channel. Recently, however, both external and internal challenges have surfaced which threaten the …