Polar Geopolitics

The rise of great power competition in the Arctic, the disruption of Antarctic governance due to COVID-19, and the impact of the coronavirus on vulnerable Arctic communities were some of the notable polar topics covered on this podcast during the course of the pandemic year of 2020. In this year-end review, Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway University, discusses what he sees as some of the most significant geopolitical aspects of the pandemic in the polar regions and beyond during this extraordinary year in world history.

Science is to a large extent the currency of governance and geopolitics in Antarctica, giving countries that conduct scientific research there a seat at the Antarctic Treaty System table. But should countries—often from the global South—that bear the brunt of the effects of climate-induced geophysical changes in Antarctica be given a greater voice in the ATS, even if they lack the resources to conduct costly research in the southern high latitudes? Similarly, should the influence of ATS states somehow be related to their level of carbon dioxide emissions, which drive the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet?  Peder Roberts, associate professor at the University of Stavanger, joins the podcast to reflect on how countries could be incentivized to reduce their impact on Antarctica while continuing to pursue ambitious polar science programs.