The Future of the Antarctic Treaty: A talk by Professor Klaus Dodds

Mon 26 June 2017

The Polar Museum

How do you govern an international continent? When twelve nations met in Washington DC in October 1959 to create the Antarctic Treaty, spirits were reasonably high. The Antarctic Treaty was intended to build on the legacy of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58, with a vision of a continent where international science and peace prevailed.
An area beyond national jurisdiction, the Antarctic is not like the world's oceans and atmosphere - seven countries are claimants and the two then superpowers (US and Soviet Union/Russia) reserve the right to make a claim to the world's remotest continent.
Professor Klaus Dodds will be looking back as much as looking forward as he discusses the future of this treaty. Can it continue to provide the necessary legal, moral and political framework to govern Antarctica peacefully?
Available to view before and after the talk, an exhibition on the International Geophysical Year, The Year that Made Antarctica.

Cost: Free