All quiet on the southern front? Revisiting Antarctic competition

Abstract

As climate change, resource insecurity and great power politics converge, Antarctica is re-emerging as a ‘hotbed’ of strategic competition. Of course, this narrative is well known, spurring the majority of media, think tank, security research, and futures work when it comes to Antarctica. Issue 13:1 revisits Antarctic competition, but not in the traditional sense of Antarctic competition. The cover image selected in many ways illustrates the aim of this Special Issue of The Polar Journal. It hones in on and focuses on some ‘submerged’, hidden aspects of Antarctic geostrategic competition. I wanted to draw attention to lesser known, the under researched, not often considered aspects of Antarctic competition. Aspects like psychological adaptation to life in Antarctica and the emergence of alternative institution interest in the region (such as the Five Eyes Intelligence community). What follows is a curated collection of articles delving into various unexpected aspects of Antarctic competition today. This issue examines alternative forms of geostrategic competition unfolding in Antarctica – from a booming architectural competition to an emerging competition over national Antarctic values in society. A vast amount of existing literature on Antarctic competition underscores the various ‘melting points’ for continental security (Brady 2013; McGee Liu 2019; Klaus Hemmings 2013; Bray 2016; Klotz 1998). Many also consider policy responses to these various Antarctic strategic issues (Young 2021; Chown 2017; Tina, Liggett, Maher Lamers 2016; Bateman 2012). As a point of departure, 13:1 opens with an expert research commentary from Ryan Burke. Burke pivots from considering policy responses to Antarctic security challenges and tables a tool we could use to navigate said competition. In his commentary, Towards an Antarctic Security and Defense Forum, Burke argues we need to move beyond the construct of simply acknowledging strategic competition and the potential for military-security issues to evolve in Antarctica – it is pertinent to start thinking about a forum to navigate it. Burke does not argue the system is irrelevant in terms of dealing with strategic competition, rather that an ‘Antarctic Security Defence Forum’ could be used to deal with issues beneath the threshold of war, of overt militarysecurity action.