Particular generalisation: the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 in relation to the anti-nuclear movement

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Moore, Jason Kendall
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2008
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247407007115; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247407007115

ABSTRACT This article presents the US role in the formation of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 in relation to the era's anti-nuclear movement. The purpose is two-fold: to highlight the strategic orientation of US Antarctic policy, suggesting that it was less enlightened than it is frequently portrayed; and to highlight the influence of the anti-nuclear movement upon the treaty's inclusion of a test ban which the United States initially opposed, hoping to reserve the right to conduct nuclear tests. The treaty is depicted as a particular generalisation: one aspect of the cold war that gains significance when scrutinised in relation to another that is much better-known.