On thick ice: Scientific internationalism and Antarctic affairs, 1957-1980

This paper focuses on the role played by scientific internationalism in Antarctica during the two decades that followed the signing and ratification of the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. The paper shows that the Treaty was a response to the threat to the 'free world' represented by the installa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History and Technology
Main Authors: Turchetti, Simone, Naylor, Simon, Dean, Katrina, Siegert, Martin
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Antarctic Treaty
Antarctica
Cold War
Geopolitics
Scientific internationalism
Antarctic
East Antarctica
The Antarctic
Antarc*
Online Access:https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/publications/aeaa3002-7db2-43d8-8e32-4a0cc39491d1
https://doi.org/10.1080/07341510802357419
Description
Summary:This paper focuses on the role played by scientific internationalism in Antarctica during the two decades that followed the signing and ratification of the Antarctic Treaty in 1961. The paper shows that the Treaty was a response to the threat to the 'free world' represented by the installation of Soviet bases in Antarctica. Scientific internationalism was used as a diplomatic weapon to respond to that threat. In the 1960s, the development of international cooperative research allowed the USA, the largest logistic operator in Antarctica, to gain control of local affairs by penetrating into strategic areas, influencing the policies of other nations, and defusing existing tensions between them. This was the case with the International Antarctic Glaciological Project, a multilateral glaciological and geological research effort in East Antarctica. In the 1970s a far more complex political situation developed, defined by changes in the US Antarctic policy and the rise of military regimes in South American countries.

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