The Great Thaw: National Security At the Top of a Melting World

• Main Author: Padilla, Matthew
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law 2008
• Subjects: environmental law; international law; law of the sea; Arctic; Law of the Sea; North Pole
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/peel_alumni/120; https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/context/peel_alumni/article/1119/viewcontent/viewcontent.cgi

During the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) sought to contain the Soviet Union’s territorial expansion. After a period of calm, which culminated in the fall of the Soviet Union, the world is once again witness to national claims over disputed territory and resources. In August of 2007, the Russian Federation became the first nation to literally place their flag on and claim the North Pole and the resources that are believed to exist underneath. “The Arctic is Russian” said Artur Chilingarov, a Russian leader of the expedition returning from the thawing pole. To which country the Arctic belongs to is at the heart of the current debate, and the contest has real national security implications which will have to be dealt with as the great thaw in the north continues.