ANTARCTICA

Digging Into Antarctica: A Recent RAND Corp Document On The Reality Of Antarctica

Geostrategic Manoeuvring and the Future of the Antarctic Treaty System

The 88 page document published by the RAND Corp in 2023 has 10 authors and states in the intro, “Antarctica has long been conceived of as a continent of peace and calmness, bereft of all but limited human activity. In reality, however, it is a resource-rich continent historically contested by multiple powers seeking to gain both symbolic and material gain. Although the territorial claims of seven states — Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) — were frozen as part of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty (AT), tensions remain over what it means to possess territory in Antarctica, what activities are permitted, and what Antarctic sovereignty actually means. These issues are exacerbated by the AT’s broad language, which is intended to provide countries with the flexibility to pursue peaceful exploration and scientific research.”

I added the bolded language for emphasis. I will continue sharing parts of this document I find most important. You can access the document yourself here.

Also, if you want more source material on the background of Antarctica you can read my previous article A Sober Exploration of Antarctica and UFOs where I dig into Operation High Jump and the International Geophysical Year (IGY) using the US Navy’s own…