Sam Bateman’s deep interest in security and the law of the sea inevitably led him to consider the geopolitical context of the vast region to Australia’s south, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. After all, the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) provides a security and governance framework to Australia’s south that has directly impacted Australia’s defence posture, resource security, and its status as an Antarctic claimant state. Born from the tensions of the Cold War, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty,1 sets aside international argument over Antarctic sovereignty claims through the provisions of Article iv, that both protects the status of the seven sovereignty claims and provides accommodation for those states not recognising them. For Australia, this was a key feature of the treaty.2 The non-militarisation provisions of the treaty are also integral to Australia’s national security (see below), allowing Australia to focus its defence assets on northern regions of greater security threat. With close colleague Anthony Bergin, Sam was one of the Australian few academic commentators on the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean who approached the issue through the lens of strategic studies. Recognising the rise in the capabilities of remote satellite and ocean technologies, as well as global drivers such as resource and food security, Sam began to look at implications of changing security environment for the Antarctic.

Item Type:	Research Book Chapter
Keywords:	Antarctic geopolitics, Antarctic Treaty system, militarisation
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Political science
Research Field:	International relations
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Objective Field:	Protection and conservation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
UTAS Author:	Haward, M (Professor Marcus Haward)
UTAS Author:	McGee, J (Associate Professor Jeffrey McGee)
UTAS Author:	Press, AJ (Dr Tony Press)
ID Code:	155113
Year Published:	2023
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (DP190101214)
Deposited By:	Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:	2023-01-30
Last Modified:	2023-03-14
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