Eagle Over the Ice: The U.S. in the Antarctic

711 Pages·1997·1.63 MB·English

by  Christopher C. Joyner

Eagle Over the Ice : The U.S. in the
title:
Antarctic
author: Joyner, Christopher C.; Theis, Ethel R.
publisher: University Press of New England
isbn10 | asin: 0874517788
print isbn13: 9780874517781
ebook isbn13: 9780585256528
language: English
United States--Foreign relations--
Antarctica, Antarctica--International Status,
subject
Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--
American.
publication date: 1997
lcc: KWX467.U55J69 1997eb
ddc: 341.2/9
United States--Foreign relations--
Antarctica, Antarctica--International Status,
subject:
Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--
American.
American.
Page iii
Eagle Over the Ice
The U.S. in the Antarctic
Christopher C. Joyner and Ethel R. Theis
Page iv
University Press of New England, Hanover, NH 03755
© 1997 by University Press of New England
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America 5 4 3 2 1
CIP data appear at the end of the book
Page v
For
Nancy, Kristin, Clayton
and
Walter
Page vii
Contents
Preface ix
List of Acronyms xiii
Chapter 1 1
Introduction
Chapter 2 10
The Antarctic Setting
Chapter 3 20
The Antarctic Treaty
Chapter 4 45
Making U.S. Antarctic Policy
Chapter 5 78
Freedom of Scientific Research
Chapter 6 100
Environmental Interests
Chapter 7 133
Geostrategic Interests
Chapter 8 161
Ideological Interests and Ecopolitics
Conclusion 188
Appendixes 195
A. The Antarctic Treaty 197
B. Interview Questions 203
C. Government and Nongovernment Officials 204
Interviewed for this Study
D. Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings 205
E. Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and Acceding 206
States
F. List of Selected Congressional Hearings/Reports on 208
Antarctic Issues 19391994
G. U.S. Antarctic Program Funding 210
Notes 212
Selected Bibliography 274
Index 297
Page ix
Preface
Antarctica is the frozen continent. It is the only continent without
native human inhabitants or states, and the only continent whose
mineral and hydrocarbon resources remain essentially unexplored and
untapped. The superabundant living marine resources in the
circumpolar Antarctic seas are practically untouched. Today, on the
eve of the twenty-first century, in an era of wondrous planetary
probes, subatomic investigations and achievements in
telecommunications, Antarctica remains a vast pristine wilderness that
is used almost exclusively for scientific research.
Though Antarctica is the coldest, direst, highest, most desolate, and
least hospitable of the continents, human activities have become
increasingly evident there during the last half-century. Since 1970,
major changes have occurred in how Antarctica is perceived, used,
and governed by the international community. The future may witness
even more changes, particularly in terms of environmental
conservation and resource management. Antarctica thus has become
the focus of growing international attention, not only from those states
with the economic wherewithal to conduct scientific research there,
but also from developing countries, international organizations, and
environmental interest groups. While these players have done much to
influence the course of recent Antarctic events, the most prominent
actor on the Antarctic scene throughout this century has remained the
same; namely, the United States.
The purpose of this book is to investigate and assess the political,
strategic, and legal aspects of the United States' relationship to the
Antarctic. While this study began as a critical examination of U.S.
national interests in the Antarctic, it gradually evolved into a broader
history, intended to lend depth and perspective to American foreign
policy in the region. As a history of U.S. involvement in the polar
south, this study traverses several fields, including international and
domestic politics, international law and diplomacy, science and
national security, and, occasionally, developmental economics and
ideological rivalries. In the
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final analysis, however, it is a study of the means and ends that have
determined U.S. policy attitudes toward the Antarctic.
This volume is arranged to be of use to the general reader as well as
the scholarly investigator. Chapter 1 sets the stage by examining the
role of the national interest as a guide to U.S. antarctic policy and, to
this end, asks a number of penetrating research questions that this
study seeks to answer. Chapter 2 turns to an examination of the
geophysical characteristics of the Antarctic, while chapter 3 evaluates
the Antarctic Treaty as the legal mechanism governing the polar
south. Next, chapter 4 examines the ways and means that national
policy is made by the U.S. government for Antarctica. Chapters 5
through 8 critically assess preeminent national interests held by the
United States in formulating and carrying out policies for Antarctica.
Chapter 5 explores the U.s. insistence on free scientific research as a
cardinal principle governing activities in the Antarctic. Issues that
have historically determined American policy considerations toward
resource conservation and evironmental protection in the Antarctic are
treated in chapter 6. Geostrategic interests, especially matters
affecting U.S. perceptions of national security and economic priorities
in the polar south, are assessed in chapter 7. During the 1980s, certain
international ideologies arose that were perceived as being contrary to
United States' national interests and policy ambitions for the
Antarctic; these are analyzed in chapter 8. Finally, the conclusion
provides an assessment of how national interests have historically
guided U.S. policy toward the Antarctic, and how the situation of
Antarctica has more recently affected U.S. foreign policy interests.
Many people contributed to this work in many ways. Several U.S.
officials and policymakers were interviewed in the course of this
study, and we are indebted to their patience and generosity in
providing information, as well as their valuable and candid insights
into and explanation of the rationale behind U.S. policy. In this