Fachartikel
Geopolitics of Energy - September 2010

Geopolitics of Energy - September 2010

Opening Up the Arctic Frontier
An Excerpt from Arctic and Antarctic: Two Poles - Different Scores

The Arctic Circle, a part of the world inhospitable to most human activity, is now being seriously considered for shipping, mining, and oil and gas development. It is the warming of the planet that is largely responsible for this change in thinking, and with polar ice diminishing at a record rate, greater arctic activity could be upon us very soon. But as there are multiple national claims on polar territory, there are also numerous legal issues to be worked out. In this issue of Geopolitics of Energy, Anis Bajrektarevic provides a comprehensive look at the region, the history, and the various countries laying claim to arctic sovereignty. He compares the situation with that of Antarctica, another large area that does not fall under any national jurisdiction. In a future issue of GoE, Professor Bajrektarevic will examine the economic issues that motivate much of this new interest in the most remote northern region on earth.