Government of Antarctica

[Paul Ward]

A commonly set title for a school assignment - in fact there is no government of Antarctica as it is a place shared by the signatories of the Antarctic Treaty.

So in a sense, the meeting of the Antarctic Treaty countries is when the "government" of Antarctica gets together.

But what do you think? Should there be a Government of Antarctica? If so who runs it? bearing in mind that no-one really lives there for long. What should the laws be and what should be the Constitution if it is to have one?

[psr]

Quite frankly I think everyone should leave it alone and don't even bother setting up a "government" because history will tell you over and over again that humans are a fickle, selfish lot and whoever is given the position of "president" of Antarctica will find a way to exploit it!!
There should be a police force to keep everyone out and that's all.

psr

[webpiter]

There is no "Government of Antarctica" in the way that we understand it in the rest of the world. This is largely as there are no indigenous peoples and no-one lives there permanently, the only habitations are scientific stations that people visit for short time periods, usually from a couple of months to just over a year.