Polar Geopolitics - Arctic and Antarctic analysis

2007 and Beyond: The Media and Narratives of Geopolitical Competition in the Arctic

A confluence of events in 2007 made the media take major interest in the Arctic, and the geopolitical narrative that emerged that year continues to shape public and political perceptions on the opportunities and risks the region and the world faces in the wake of accelerated climate change. This episode features three experts—Alice Rogoff, founder of Arctic Today; technology historian Nina Wormbs; and media studies professor Miya Christensen—that share their insights on the Arctic media landscape and events like the 2007 Arctic sea ice minimum that drive coverage and underpin narratives of geopolitical conflict and competition over Arctic resources.

Greenpeace, CCAMLR and MPAs: An NGO Perspective on Protecting Antarctica

Many stakeholders, particularly environmental NGOs, involved with last October's meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources were highly critical of the Commission's failure to reach agreement on additional Marine Protected Areas in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. Frida Bengtsson is global Project Lead for the Greenpeace 'Protect the Antarctic' campaign, and participated in the meeting in Hobart, Australia on behalf of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. On this episode of the podcast, she shares her experiences and insights from an NGO perspective on working with, and sometimes against, state and commercial interests in safeguarding both polar regions from excessive exploitation. In addition to the CCAMLR negotiations for MPAs in the Weddell Sea and East Antarctica, Frida also discusses Greenpeace's work with Southern Ocean krill fisheries, the problem of microplastics, and other environmental issues pertaining to the polar regions.

Greenland’s Lost Norse: Parables of Adaptation from the North Atlantic

What lessons for contemporary climate adaptation can we learn from the Viking-era Norse settlement on Greenland, which was founded in the midst of the Mediaeval Warm Period and disappeared during the Little Ice Age? Prof. Thomas McGovern, an environmental archaeologist and world leading authority on Medieval Arctic cultures, shares his insights from decades of fieldwork in the North Atlantic into how historic societies succeeded or failed to adapt to a changing climate and shifting socio-economic circumstances, and how this may inform the present period of environmental change and geopolitical interest in the region.

The Arctic Council: Indispensable international regime?

In part two of the interview with Polar Geopolitics, Dr. Annika Nilsson shares her insights into the history and inner-workings of the Arctic Council, including its role in promoting peace, enhancing environmental knowledge, and facilitating science diplomacy among member states and non-Arctic observers to the Council. She also considers contrasting portrayals of the Arctic as a region of peaceful cooperation versus media narratives of looming conflict.

King of the Cryosphere: Antarctica and the Earth system with Will Steffen

Earth system science studies the planet as an array of interacting “spheres” that represent components of a single system. Antarctica dominates the cryosphere—the frozen parts of the planet consisting of ice and snow—and thus has a major influence on the overall functioning of the Earth system. Joining the podcast is Prof. Will Steffen, a world leading Earth system scientist and public intellectual who has long operated at the interface of science and policy, including as chairman of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee in Australia. He is also closely associated with concepts such as the Anthropocene, the Great Acceleration, and the Planetary Boundaries framework. In addition to explaining the centrality of Antarctica in the Earth system, Prof. Steffen discusses the idea of “Hothouse Earth”, evoked in an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, which received a great deal of international media attention.

 

Climate Adaptation and Food Security in Alaskan indigenous communities

Indigenous communities are facing multiple challenges from a changing climate across the circumpolar North. In this episode, two experts with extensive experience in the American Arctic —former senior Interior Department official Joel Clement and Nicole Misarti of University of Alaska—discuss with Polar Geopolitics the array of impacts affecting native Alaskan communities, and what measures are being taken to build resilience and adapt to climate change.

Michael Byers: Outer Space and the Arctic—Governance in Cold, Dark and Dangerous Places

What parallels exist in governance regimes for Outer Space and the Arctic? On this episode, Prof. Michael Byers, a leading Arctic and international law expert, shares his insights into why extreme environments often foster international cooperation. He also explains the complexities of Canadian Arctic politics, and the nuances of the concept of sovereignty, in a far-ranging discussion that encompasses outer space, the deep sea, and both polar regions.

(Image: Reuben Wu)

John Holdren: Climate change, the Arctic and current U.S policies

Prof. John P. Holdren is a leader of the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The former Chief Scientific Advisor to President Barack Obama attended the 2018 Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he sat down with the Polar Geopolitics podcast to explain the impacts of climate change on the Arctic and how this in turn affects the global environment. Prof. Holdren also discusses the importance of international scientific cooperation in the Arctic, reflects on scientific advice for political leaders, and critiques current U.S. engagement with climate change and the Arctic, while identifying signs of hope on the sub-national level.  

(Photo: Seth Johnson USCG)