The Antarctic Treaty System and the peaceful governance of Antarctica: the role of the ATS in promoting peace at the margins of the world

Abstract

ABSTRACT Antarctica is celebrated by the international community as a continent exclusively for peace and science. Since its inception in 1959 the Antarctic governance regime, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), has provided stable and enduring governance of the region and has played a critical role in the development of peaceful norms between states in Antarctic affairs. Specifically, the Antarctic Treaty prohibits measures of a military nature, bans the testing of any type of weapon in the Antarctic, allows for open-access and inspection of all facilities, and essentially freezes the contentious issue of territorial claims and sovereignty. These measures are widely believed to have contributed to the continent remaining free from violent armed conflict between states in, or because of, Antarctica. Despite the emphasis placed on the concepts of ‘peace’ and ‘peaceful purposes’ in Antarctic affairs, there has been little attention afforded to defining these terms, and thus the idea of peace is conceptualised exclusively in its negative form; the absence of conflict. This paper argues that an expanded definition of peace to include positive peace is useful when evaluating the successes and limitations of the ATS in promoting peace in the Antarctic. While the possibility of conflict in the Antarctic in the near future remains remote, this paper goes on to identify several potential threats to peace which could undermine the stability of the ATS, which could prompt future scholarship on how the ATS could be developed to promote robust, positive and lasting peace in the Antarctic.