Red scare on ice: Antarctica, Australian–Soviet relations and the International Geophysical Year

Abstract

The entanglement of politics and science in Australia’s engagement with Antarctica, an emerging topic of historiographical debate, is particularly evident during the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year. Drawing on extensive archival research, this article utilises Australian–Soviet relations as a case study to assess the influence of political and scientific factors on Australia’s approach to Antarctica. It identifies a dissonance between anti-Soviet policy and friendly on-ice attitudes, with broader implications for contemporary understandings of Australian Antarctic policy and the Cold War.