Frozen Claims and Contemporary Geopolitics: History and Heritage in Antarctica

In a continent recognized as a global commons, yet where seven states hold frozen claims and others are eager to be seen as stakeholders, history and the cultural heritage remains of earlier expeditions to Antarctica are deeply entangled in the geopolitics of the southern polar region. On this episode, Polar Geopolitics speaks with three polar historians and cultural heritage experts—Dag Avango, Lize-Marie van der Watt and Peder Roberts—who explain these complex interlinkages that strongly influence contemporary activity and the governance of Antarctica. The evolution and importance of the Antarctic humanities is also discussed in the wake of major conference on the subject in Ushuaia, Argentina.