Critical Geopolitics of the Polar Regions

Wehrmann, Dorothea

doi:10.4324/9781351048088

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Antarctic futures have also been the subject of serious academic attention. Notable forward-looking contributions include Powell and Dodds' edited book on polar geopolitics (2014) (Powell and Dodds 2014;Pincus and Ali 2015;Abdel-Motaal 2016;Dodds and Nutall 2016;Brady 2017;Wehrmann 2019). The potential for contestation over Antarctic resources is a recurrent concern.…”

Section: Antarctic Futures and Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This includes questioning the spatial activities of states and the behaviour of actors who influence those activities. It seeks to analyse the artefacts of geopolitics (speeches, texts, maps, narratives, labelling and images) for their role in constructing power over spaces (Wehrmann 2019;Sloan 2017). Critical geopolitics eschews the classical focus on a search for objective knowledge and its emphasis on the links between geography and patterns of behaviour among states.…”

Section: Classical and Critical Geopoliticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introduction

McGee

Edmiston

Haward

2021

Springer Polar Sciences

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There is growing interest in the future of Antarctic governance. For the last 60 years, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) has been comparatively successful in meeting its objectives, and sufficiently adaptive in the face of change. However, within the literature, there is increasing concern that, in the medium to long term, ATS responses to emerging geopolitical challenges may be inadequate. How do we assess this concern? How can organisations evaluate the future robustness of their current strategy? Antarctic futures have been explored within national Antarctic programs and they have been the subject of serious academic attention. Unfortunately, much of this commentary lacks a common language and analytical approach. To address this gap, we explore how the multi-disciplinary focus of classical geopolitics might be applied systematically to Antarctic scenarios. Here, we define geopolitics as the intersection between power, authority, and space, in rivalry between states. Over the course of this book, we illustrate a possible approach with the topical example of Antarctic militarisation. Along the way, we make suggestions to augment the current theory and practice of geopolitical scenario planning. We hope this work may be useful for those interested in the rigorous assessment of geopolitical futures-in Antarctica and beyond.

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Section: Antarctic Futures and Scenariosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Classical and Critical Geopoliticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

McGee

Edmiston

Haward

2021

Springer Polar Sciences

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“…1, we noted the contrasts between the two major schools of geopolitics. We saw that classical geopolitics (actually a grouping of theories (Flint and Mamadouh 2015)) is grounded in an epistemic assumption about the objectivity of phenomena (Sloan 2017) and takes a primarily state-centric perspective (Powell and Dodds 2014) about control over geographical territory (Wehrmann 2019). On the other hand, critical geopolitics (again an aggregation of perspectives) emphasises the subjective nature of geopolitical knowledge, and often elevates the voices of non-state actors (Powell and Dodds 2014).…”

Section: A Brief Recap: Geopolitics-classical Critical and Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, critical geopolitics (again an aggregation of perspectives) emphasises the subjective nature of geopolitical knowledge, and often elevates the voices of non-state actors (Powell and Dodds 2014). It critiques or deconstructs geopolitical artefacts to uncover the assemblages of power and knowledge used to assert control over spaces (Sloan 2017;Wehrmann 2019). These artefacts include foreign policy documents, speeches, symbols and the language of justification (Orakhelashvili 2008), as well as practices, materials and emotions (Jones and Clark 2019).…”

Section: A Brief Recap: Geopolitics-classical Critical and Other Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antarctic Geopolitics: Background

McGee

Edmiston

Haward

2021

Springer Polar Sciences

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Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are largely absent from the leading early works of classical geopolitics. While more recent works have embraced the southern hemisphere, their gaze rarely ventures toward the frozen south. We believe the time is ripe for classical analysis to be re-enlivened in Antarctic geopolitics, and in scenario analysis. In this chapter, we survey some of the key driving forces of Antarctic geopolitics, through a classical lens and across nine themes. From this snapshot, we observe that geopolitical driving forces tend to differ according to whether they are predetermined elements or critical uncertainties; whether they impel events or trends forward or constrain them; whether they instigate rivalry or promote cooperation; and whether they are endogenous or exogenous to the field in question. We suggest that unpacking our driving forces in this way provides us with a more nuanced understanding of how these factors are likely to behave within a scenario. KeywordsAntarctic geopolitics • Disciplines of geopolitics • Driving forces of geopolitics • Driving forces of Antarctic geopolitics • Dynamic signature of driving forces • Scenario planning challenges OverviewIn this chapter, we shift our focus away from scenario approaches and toward the factors likely to drive and shape future state activity in Antarctica. As we saw in Chap. 4, these driving forces are the core elements that move scenario narratives forward, and influence how we formulate and handle geopolitical issues within them. If we are to understand how driving forces work within a scenario narrative, we need to grasp their origins and dynamics. In this chapter, we will consider both. If our scenarios are to be plausible, rigorous, and robust, then our list of driving forces needs to be comprehensive and prioritised strategically, with key causal relationships between them identified. To be comprehensive, we propose that it helps to look at our subject matter through the lenses of nine themes:

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“…Our approach is informed by literatures on post-colonialism and critical geopolitics that address contested imaginaries and practices, and the more technical literatures on Arctic governance including work that has followed closely the evolution of the Arctic Council. In an earlier collection of essays, a case was made for a 'critical polar geopolitics' and these essays continue in that spirit of interrogating the intersection of geographical imaginaries, geopolitical dynamics and regimes of governance (Powell and Dodds, 2014;Wehrmann, 2018). Thereafter, we explore the presence of an underlying anxiety about the current and future intention of Asian stakeholders, and the spectral presence of what some have called 'Polar Orientalism' (see e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%