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Soft power as a mean to exploit resources in Antarctica

Updated: Aug 28, 2020

Will diplomacy have a place in survival?

It is widely known that the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) relies on soft power, solving issues and protecting the environment with diplomacy and persuasion; but I wonder, taking into consideration the history of humanity where the protection of resources always ends in corruption and ambition, will the same happen with Antarctica? I wish I wouldn't have to think this way, but I believe facing the reality of the ambition behind human actions is very important.


In a way, the cooperation in Antarctica may be a signal of the fate superpowers have set for it. If you haven't noticed, there never seems to be a peaceful agreement for anything in the world, much less for an untouched region filled with resources. Looking into the future, if we humans continue to grow in number and lead unsustainable lives filled with exploitation and the contamination of resources, we will end up in a terrible global water crisis, whereas there won't be any clean water to drink, use for our homes, or use for food production.

In this case, we will only have the fresh water in Antarctica left, having been protected by the Treaty for years now. Here I ask you: would countries really agree peacefully on an adequate distribution of the water in Antarctica or would hell break loose and conflict arise?

It is possible that in such case the entire Treaty goes overboard and the main superpowers in the ATS (USA and Russia) take matters into their own hands, making their rightful claims over Antarctica. Being two of the greatest military powers in the world, soft power would no longer be used and hard power would come into play, making them the only countries with access to 70% of the Earth's fresh water. Is it possible that superpowers are only using soft power in the present to make sure they have access to this reservoir of resources in the future?


Honestly, I hope the future doesn't play out this way, but being truthful humanity is selfish and cruel. Although it sounds awful, I dont think there would be a place for diplomacy in the survival of a global water crisis; superpowers will likely rely on hard power, coercion and violence, like they have done in the past.

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➔ What are your thoughts on this? Is soft power effective? What do you think we could do to prevent this?


Check out the original ATS document down below (retrieved from the document section in: https://www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html)


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