Who Owns the Arctic?: Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North

by Michael Byers

Who actually controls the Northwest Passage? Who owns the trillions of dollars of oil and gas beneath the Arctic Ocean? Which territorial claims will prevail, and why — those of the United States, Russia, Canada, or the Nordic nations? And, in an age of rapid climate change, how do we protect the fragile Arctic environment while seizing the economic opportunities presented by the rapidly melting sea-ice? Michael Byers, a leading Arctic expert and international lawyer clearly and concisely explains the sometimes contradictory rules governing the division and protection of the Arctic and the disputes over the region that still need to be resolved. What emerges is a vision for the Arctic in which cooperation, not conflict, prevails and where the sovereignty of individual nations is exercised for the benefit of all. This insightful little book is an informed primer for today's most pressing territorial issue.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2010

About the author

Michael Byers is a Canadian legal scholar and non-fiction author.

Reviews

[Fiona]

Thought provoking?

Up to the current time period, there has only been some thought of who owns the arctic. Most people think it's Canada. But, what are the boundaries?

There has been international disagreements to the ownership of Hans island which is a small island between Ellesmere Island (Canada) and Greenland (Denmark). There is still disagreements. There is also disagreements as to the border between Alaska (US) and Northwest Territories (Canada) in the Beaufort Sea. The US claims the land border should continue in a straight line into the sea; Canada thinks otherwise but I don't remember why.

The biggest decision to be made is the northwest passage. Until recently, ship navigation through the passage was difficult, if at all possible. However, with the warming climates ships can and do navigate this passage. Is this passage part of Canada which means they can monitor all ship traffic? Or, is this international waters which means any ship can navigate this passageway without notifying Canada. Probably the courts will have to decide this. In the meantime, Canada cannot waiver on its rights to the passageway.

I found this book quite interesting although, at times, it was beyond my intellect. There was no good map in the book of Hans Island. I am not Canadian so I am not familiar with the islands of the Canadian artic and a good map would have been helpful.

This may be a book that I will have to reread to further understand all the sovereignty concepts.

[Leif]

A good primer in the international public law perspective on the Canadian claims in the Arctic. Byers is not particularly radical and here is more concerned with articulating a clear snapshot of Canadian interests and their relationships with foreign neighbours––Russia, Denmark, Norway, and America––but also with the Inuit whose land Canada has laid claim to and who the government continually lets down in policymaking and financial redistributions. Most interesting is a brief mention of the devolution of federal power to Nunavut as a province and not a territory. All in all, Byers isn't going to light the world on fire, but his perspective is very liberal, very human, and very readable from a colonial point of view.

[Gabriel Salgado]

Un resumen rápido, integral y contundente de las disputas de soberanía en el Ártico y de los distintos sistemas que se han establecido a lo largo de los años para mitigarlas y asegurar la estabilidad y la seguridad del área.
Muy bien escrito y con un punto de vista -muy- canadiense, pero que tiene en cuenta las preocupaciones y los intereses de la mayoría de los Estados que tienen algún tipo de interés en el Ártico. Un libro fundamental para explorar el concepto de soberanía y cómo el cambio en los espacios geopolíticos (en este caso producto de cambio climático) va disparando nuevos problemas y soluciones.

[Raymond Franssen]

Relevant still, or again. It is written from a Canadian perspective for a Canadian audience. A bit terse at times.

[Chris]

This book had the wrong title. It certainly discussed sovereignty disputes in the Northern hemisphere, but it largely focused on Canada, and what Canada has done in its Arctic territories, and what it should do to protect its interest (especially in relations to off-shore mining and resource extraction, and the nature of the Northwest Passage). Canada claims that the Northwest Passage is an internal waterway, much of the rest of the World claims its an international waterway, an important legal distinction.

Hardly any discussion on other Arctic countries, except where they interact with Canada in the Arctic. Good discussions about the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but I would have liked more on the "Common Heritage of Mankind" a principle contained within UNCLOS, and how this governs all non-territorial waters of a State (out to 12 km), and non-Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters (out to 200km, with some variations). What about the law applicable to the high seas beyond national sovereignty, which governs both the water column and the abyssal terrain at the North Pole itself? This was not expanded upon very thoroughly and I would have liked more about this topic, and less about which Canadian politician made which statement about native populations in the Arctic.

[Luc]

I found this book very useful for an introduction in international law. The main issue is the status of Canada's claim in the Northwest passage and other areas of the Canadian arctic that are still challenged by other countries such as Denmark (Hans Island) and the United States of America (part of the Beaufort Sea). The main argument of the author is that we must seek cooperation and a better understanding of the needs of the Inuit communities in order to strengthen our link with the north as well as our claims in the Canadian arctic archipelago. The author support his arguments with ample sources of information on the subject as well as personal experiences in the region.

[Nicholas Griffith]

This book is a political piece (the author may disagree with me here) about the future of the Arctic. While there are many wonderful points presented concerning future land custodianship, the overall tone is of the "upbeat but full of nothing" stuff most politicians use to write their memoirs. There are far more engaging books on the subject that one can actually sink their teeth into. I'd give this one a pass.

[David]

Though the author started out with a scholarly view examining arctic sovereignty he unfortunately then chose to depart from objectivity and lapse into a political discussion. Far from explaining the intricacies of "who owns the arctic" within international law and precedent it seemed more important to champion political points of view. Still, a decent read, one that shows the author at least has a passion of sorts in the arctic.

[Jodi]

If you want something in-depth this book is probably not for you. However, this doesn't mean that it is bad, just that it is geared to an audience that require a primer on the issues. Who Owns the Arctic? is a very concise and readable overview of the current disputes over arctic sovereignty, the interests of the stakeholders and international legal concepts that are at play. It is extremely useful at clarifying the basic issues and providing a stepping stone for further research.

[Kim]

A good primer on Arctic sovereignty issues, outlining what is at play with the reality of climate change and a quickly melting ice cap and permafrost. The situation is changing so quickly - I feel we already need an updated edition or website to maintain relevance.

[Patrick]

Concise, very radable overview of Canada's northern sovereignty issues. Of particular interest is the chapter on Inuit and arctic sovereignty.

[Foggygirl]

A very interesting read. Schools may want to consider adding this book to their reading lists. It's an issue that should be discussed more widely.