Cold Front
Conflict Ahead in Arctic Waters
-
- USD 30.99
-
- USD 30.99
Descripción editorial
The Arctic: land of ice and the six-month day; irresistible goal for explorers and adventurers; enduring source of romance and mystery - and now also a poignant and unavoidable indicator of the impact of climate change. As the ice cap shrinks, the geography of the entire Arctic region changes: clear shipping channels replace immovable ice and inaccessible oil resources become available. What will be the long-term consequences of these cataclysmic changes - not only environmental but also social and political? How will the lives of the many individuals who depend upon the natural resources of the Arctic be changed? And how will the global powers who wish to exploit the region's many assets respond? Cold Front is not just another attempt to predict the outcome of global warming. Instead it offers a clear-sighted and penetrating investigation of the Arctic's pivotal role in international relations, placing the polar region in its historical, political and legal context. The thawing of the ice-cap creates huge opportunities for trade and transport - and therefore also for conflict between the Arctic nations.
This important and timely addition to the literature on the region will be essential reading for anyone interested in humanity's effect on the Arctic - or the Arctic's effect on humanity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Due to recent acceleration in ice-cap melting, both of the Arctic Ocean's North-East and North-West passages briefly opened in August of 2008, bringing attention to the seldom discussed ramifications of climate change on international relations. With Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, and the U.S. all laying claim to waters surrounding the North Pole, Fairhall (The Guardian's Defense Correspondent during the Cold War) warns of the disputes regarding commercial rights and traffic through the Arctic Ocean. Examples of potential conflict abound, posing challenges to agreements like The Spitzbergen Treaty of 1920 and the UN convocation on the Law of the Sea, both of which attempted to establish who had access to undersea natural resources. Even foreign ships' rights of innocent passage have come under scrutiny, as the boundaries of territorial waters become more difficult to delineate. Fairhall's history section outlines periodic attempts to conquer these two passages and clarifies how important and difficult it will be to govern the Arctic region. Climate change is destructive enough in itself, but the political implications the author points out induce deep breaths in anticipation of a truly cold war.
