U.S. National Security Discourse and the Political Construction of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Abstract

ABSTRACT The controversy concerning oil development in the federally protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska is constituted by actors with multiple perspectives on security. Development of the region is often claimed by the Bush Administration as a national security imperative, necessary to alleviate U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Other participants in the debate, including environmentalists, oil companies, the Alaskan state government, organized labor, and Alaskans, perceive different threats and hold conflicting perspectives on security. This article adds to research on the “social construction of nature” by exploring the constitutive effects of the invocation of national security discourse on the refuge, both as a place and as the subject of national debate. It combines perspectives on “social nature” and “critical geopolitics” to explore how this invocation helps construct notions of threat and identity within the debate. This is accomplished via textual analysis of articles of public argumentation, including congressional testimony, press releases, and both environmental and antienvironmental web sites.