Why the Arctic is Different

Unlike the Antarctic, which is a continent surrounded by water, the Arctic is a mediterranean surrounded by land. The Antarctic and Arctic are also dissimilar in two other important ways. First, people have inhabited the Arctic for thousands of years. Second, sovereign states hold rights to all northern lands. While the Antarctic has its own continental shelf, the Arctic Ocean is split by continental shelves protruding from northern nations around the globe: sovereign nations have legal claims to the region extending to the outer limit of their continental shelf and within the two hundred mile Exclusive Economic Zone immediately beyond the limits of the continental shelf. As Gail Osherenko and Oran Young, authorities on polar matters and the Arctic region, write, “Given the circumstances prevailing in Arctic today, we should not expect the emergence of anything resembling the comprehensive regime for Antarctica set forth in the Antarctic Treaty of 1959." To fully appreciate the rationale behind this statement, it is necessary to understand the history of the region. Indeed, events indicate that it is highly unlikely the Arctic will, as the Antarctic in 1959, be turned into a zone “forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.” However, the Arctic can still be managed cooperatively and developed sustainably.