Constructing Arctic Sovereignty Rules, Policy & Governance 1494-2013 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Corine Wood-Donnelly School of Social Sciences Brunel University March 2014 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... 3 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. 6 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 7 PART ONE: RULES ............................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER I: THE CASE OF THE MELTING ARCTIC: SOVEREIGNTY, IMPERIALISM AND THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM .............................. 33 CHAPTER II: A GENEALOGY OF THE RULES AND CODES OF ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY ................................................................................................... 78 PART TWO: POLICY ....................................................................................... 141 CHAPTER III: U.S. ARCTIC POLICY 1867-2013 ..................................... 142 CHAPTER IV: CANADIAN ARCTIC POLICY 1870-2013 ........................ 173 CHAPTER V: RUSSIAN ARCTIC POLICY 1619-2013 ............................. 203 PART THREE: GOVERNANCE ...................................................................... 236 CHAPTER VI: ARCTIC GOVERNANCE: TRANSFORMATION, RULES AND DOCTRINE ............................................................................................... 237 CHAPTER VII: A POLITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ARCTIC SEARCH AND RESCUE AGREEMENT: TEXT, FRAMING AND LOGICS ................ 264 CHAPTER VIII: A PENDING GOVERNANCE ISSUE: THE LEGAL STATUS OF ICE ................................................................................................................. 282 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 315 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 327 2 Acknowledgements While the cover of this thesis designates credit to only one name, this proJect has been supported by a great number of people, without whom the completion would have been more arduous, if not impossible. To the following I proffer my gratitude: • Supervisor Dr Gareth Dale for his support and guidance, reading multiple drafts of each chapter and providing both academic and personal support. • Second supervisor Dr John Macmillan, who read drafts of several chapters. • To these institutions for funding: The Foundation for Women Graduates for a third year expenses grant. The Brunel Graduate School, for funding to attend conferences in the UK and Iceland. The UK-Canada Colloquium, for the opportunity to attend the colloquium in Ottawa and Iqaluit. Brunel Department of Politics & History, for a final year expenses grant. • The many who engaged in informal, but inspiring conversations on the Arctic or on my research broadly: Emeritus Prof Clive Archer, Dr Michael Bravo, Adam Fabry, Duncan Depledge, Dr Christian Gustafson, Prof Mark Neocleous, Dr Richard Powell, Dr David Scott, Prof Phillip Steinberg, Adam Stepien and the late Prof Kaiyan Kaikobad. • The dear friends and family who supported me on this journey: Toni Allison, Adam Fabry, SuZanne Finley, Danielle Gingerich, Matthew Goddard, Cynthia Hung, Tim Jones, Alexandra Lanning, Mark McIntosh, Major Ross Schellhaas, Dr Nikii Wang, the late Ian Ferguson and the late Dr Amanda Rohloff, amongst many, many more. • The stars of the Brunel Politics History admin team: Amreen Malik and Ushma Gudka. • A million thanks to those friends allowed me to write at odd and prolonged hours in their kitchens, living rooms and cafes, ensuring the tea supply never ran out. • And for those who put their arms around me when I lost my beloved during this project, eternal gratitude. 3 List of Figures Chapter 1: The Case of the Melting Arctic: Sovereignty, Imperialism and the International System Figure 1: Addition of Rules in the Function Machine of the International System………………………………………………………47 Figure 2: Exploration of the Arctic……………………………...……58 Figure 3: Landing of the Treasures, or Results of the Polar Expedition, 1819…………………………………………………….………60 Figure 4: U.S.S.R. Publicity Poster Stalin and the Arctic, 1939………………………………………………………………………….…...65 Chapter 2: A Genealogy of the Rules and Codes of Arctic Sovereignty Figure 1: Timeline of Rules and Codes in Arctic International Law………………………………………………………………………………..82 Figure 2: Map by Columbus……………………………………………..85 Figure 3: Treaty of Tordesillas………………………………………...87 Figure 4: Lines of Amity…………………………………………………..91 Figure 5: Selden’s Mare Clausum……………………………………..99 Figure 6: Hudson’s Bay circa 1700…………………………………107 Figure 7: Dominion of Canada 1882………………………………121 Figure 8: Canadian Maps 1927 and 2007……………………….125 Figure 9: Maritime Zones under UNCLOS III…………………..131 Figure 10: Maritime Jurisdiction and Boundaries in the Arctic Region………………………………………………………………..135 Chapter 6: Arctic Governance: Transformation, Rules and Doctrine Figure 1: Arctic Governance Agreements vs. Antarctic Treaty System…………………………………………………………………………256 Chapter 7: A Political Assessment of the Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement: Text, Framing and Logics 4 Figure 1: Arctic Search and Rescue Delimitation Map……..270 Figure 2: Amver Density Plot September 2012…………….…276 Chapter 8: A Pending Governance Issue: The Legal Status of Ice Figure 1: Overlapping Legal Codes in the Arctic Maritime………………………………………………………………………302 Figure 2: International Ice Patrol: General Drift Pattern of Icebergs……………………………………………………………….………303 Figure 3: Iceberg Frequency and Locations on 15 April 2012…………………………………………………………………….………304 5 Abstract Constructing Arctic Sovereignty: Rules, Policy and Governance 1494-2013 is a meta-narrative of the development of state sovereignty in the Arctic. It investigates the evolution of the rules of the international system over the longue durée, in so far as they frame Arctic sovereignty. It examines in particular the increasing importance of the legal dimension of territory and the transitions that have occurred with the introduction of new rules used by states to establish sovereignty. The thesis analyses the policy of the United States, Canada and Russia as they pursue their national interests in the region, with reference to (and at times in contravention of) international rules and codes, and it situates governance within the framework of the international system as a mechanism for states to pursue their interests in the Arctic beyond their sovereign borders. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge through its distinctive methodology and theoretical approach, as well as through its analysis of primary materials. Using the pillars of a constructivist research framework -- including rules and interests over the longue durée -- to develop a meta-narrative of Arctic sovereignty, it situates contemporary Arctic foreign policy and governance within the evolving framework of the international system, identifying imperialism as a common thread in the relationship between the Arctic states and Arctic territory. It concludes that the expansion of sovereignty over this new territory represents the continuation of imperialism within the international system by states, perpetuating an asymmetric relationship that allows states to absorb this territory for the purposes of resource exploitation in the pursuit of national interests, with international cooperation maintaining the primacy of the Arctic states within the region. 6 Introduction On 2 August 2007, a Russian mini-submarine commanded by Arctic hero Artur Chilingarov descended into the depths of the Arctic Ocean when “for the first time in the history of human civiliZation man visited the real pole of the North.”1 As a mark of this expedition, a titanium flag of the Russian Federation was planted on the seabed at the North Pole, repeating the ceremonies of possession initiated by explorers in the Age of Discovery acting on behalf of European empires, an action long considered to be an initial step of territorial acquisition. The symbolic nature of this undertaking was not lost on the rest of the world, eliciting the immediate response from Canadian Foreign Minister Peter McKay, “This isn’t the 15th century. You can’t go around the world and Just plant flags and say ‘We’re claiming this territory’,”2 a statement denying the international acknowledgement necessary for legitimacy to any claims Russia might have been entertaining. The Arctic is considered the globe’s final frontier in both physical and geopolitical imaginings. It has resisted conquest, armed with perpetual ice and climatic and weather conditions so harsh that many explorers lured by the siren song of Arctic enchantment have been thwarted at the gates or never returned from their expeditions. Through accepted norms of state behaviour during the Age of Discovery, the terra firma of the Arctic has been delineated into the political boundaries of the littoral states. However, with the Arctic maritime and its resources remaining locked in an icy safe, sovereign control of the Arctic maritime was of little import in this period and failed to be resolved. The Arctic is melting with global warming removing its conditional barriers and, combined with