Introduction
In 2009, the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) awarded the two authors a research seminar series grant. These awards are envisaged to create seminar groups that
‘are multi-institutional groups of academic researchers, postgraduate students and non-academic users who meet regularly to exchange information and ideas with the aim of advancing research within their fields. Where appropriate, Seminar Group members should be drawn from industry, Government Departments and other relevant organisations as well as from academic institutions. The ESRC would particularly encourage Seminar Groups explicitly designed to bring together leading researchers from across disciplines to identify new research agendas or capacity building priorities’ (ESRC 2010).
Under the title ‘Knowledges, resources and legal regimes: the new geopolitics of the polar regions’, the seminar series is designed to investigate critically the contemporary Arctic and Antarctic. The polar regions have recently returned to widespread public attention. Media reports of melting sea ice, the plight of polar bears, the sustainability of indigenous livelihoods and the claiming of both the Arctic and Antarctic seabed have garnered international interest. Geopolitical machinations in both polar regions have been in evidence, from the building of new scientific bases to the commissioning of replacement icebreakers. Meanwhile, oceanographic and geophysical research has gathered momentum within the context of evidentiary submissions of extended continental shelves to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Resource speculation, particularly in the Arctic, has added extra interest and verve to policy-related discussions. Such discussions increasingly now involve a range of participants, including not only the coastal states and the Arctic Council, but also regional organisations such as the European Union, extra-regional states such as China, environmental NGOs, and political representatives of indigenous peoples, such as the Inuit Circumpolar Council.
Scope of the award
This seminar series will undertake the following activities:
• hold four events to take stock of the current situation with emphasis placed on the prevailing geopolitical, legal, scientific, governance and human security dimensions of the Arctic and Antarctic.
• bring together an international, interdisciplinary network of researchers that will involve academics from geography, anthropology, political science, international law, economics, international relations, history and related disciplines, as well as other user communities within government, NGOs and the media.
• encourage the development of future research capacity in these areas by integrating participation by postgraduates, postdoctoral fellows and early career researchers through special bursaries for attendance, invitations to speak at seminars, and other opportunities to interact in the network.
• produce a website to publicise the seminar series and outputs from the seminars, which will be hosted at http://www.polargeopolitics.com
• produce a comprehensive directory of UK-based experts in the social sciences and humanities with research interests in the polar regions.
• finally, it is proposed to hold a follow up conference in late 2011 (the 50th year of the Antarctic Treaty's entry into force), which will focus on ‘Approaches to polar geopolitics’ and will seek to consolidate the UK-based polar studies network (for example the UK Polar Network)
Timetable and seminar topics
Seminar 1: Shifting poles? Geopolitics and legal regimes
Foresight Centre, Liverpool, Thursday 25 March 2010.
This event will launch the seminar series by considering the new geopolitical considerations that are affecting the Polar Regions. Questions to be addressed include: Why has there been a renewed geopolitical interest in the Polar Regions? What legal regimes are in place and are they adequate? Are new actors and interests unsettling the prevailing strategic status quo? How important are environmental and resource related issues in driving any changes? Speakers include: Clive Archer (Manchester Metropolitan University), Michael Bravo (University of Cambridge), Klaus Dodds, Lassi Heininen (University of Lapland) and Kaiyan Kaikobad (Brunel University).
Seminar 2: New resource frontiers? Arctic and Antarctic continental shelves
British Library, London, Tuesday 21 September 2010.
This seminar will focus on the legal mechanisms such as Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the geopolitical circumstances surrounding the mapping of the outer continental shelf. The role of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will receive special attention. It will consider both the Arctic and the Antarctic and explore the longer-term ramifications of activity for the regions in terms of governance and management. Planned speakers include: Harald Brekke (UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf), Richard Powell and Sverker Sörlin (Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm).
Seminar 3: UNCLOS and the Antarctic Treaty: competing models of polar governance?
British Library, London, Tuesday 15 February 2011.
This seminar will investigate suggestions that a new governance framework is needed for the circumpolar Arctic. Some actors have postulated that the Antarctic Treaty might provide such a model for Arctic governance. The Arctic coastal states prefer a model based on UNCLOS. Is a model based on the Antarctic Treaty feasible let alone desirable? How does the Antarctic Treaty system manage the provisions of UNCLOS? Do coastal states exist within the Antarctic Treaty region? Planned speakers include: Rob Huebert (University of Calgary), Don Rothwell (Australia National University) and Diana Wallis (European Parliament).
Seminar 4: Subsidiarity, indigenous self-determination and other peoples in the polar regions
Foresight Centre, Liverpool, Thursday 12 May 2011.
The final seminar reflects on some of the complications involved in the construction of a new geopolitical framework for the polar regions. Drawing upon debates about polar governance, inspired by both indigenous self-determination and environmental management, the pr inciple of subsidiarity is explored. How have indigenous peoples and communities shaped Arctic governance? Does this influence continue, or are growing interests in accessibility and resources jeopardising this position? How might, if at all, these governance frameworks ‘travel’ to Antarctica? What are the roles and responsibilities of those who work, visit, or are otherwise engaged in the social life of the polar regions, such as scientists, logistical staff, tourists and industrial organisations? Planned speakers include: Michael Bradshaw (University of Leicester), Mark Nuttall (University of Alberta), Martina Tyrrell (University of Reading), Nancy Wachowich (University of Aberdeen) and Kathryn Yusoff (University of Exeter).
Further details
These events are free to attend and open to all those interested in the polar regions. If you are interested in being registered, please contact either Richard Powell (r.c.powell@liverpool.ac.uk) and/or Klaus Dodds (k.dodds@rhul.ac.uk). Further details are also available from: http://polargeopolitics.wordpress.com/
