International competition for the management and exploitation of global commons: A case study of Antarctica

Abboud, Marwan Mohammed

doi:10.63677/jqlap.2026.168113.1532

	International competition for the management and exploitation of global commons: A case study of Antarctica
AL-Qadisiya Journal For Law and Political Sciences
Volume 17, Issue: 2 part 1, September 2026, Pages 1255-1272 PDF (525.32 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.63677/jqlap.2026.168113.1532
Author
Marwan Mohammed Abboud^*
College of Political Science / University of Anbar
Abstract
This study begins by examining the increasing threats surrounding global commons, which have garnered attention due to their vast resources, most notably Antarctica. It explores the transformation of Antarctica, as a global commons, from a site of scientific experimentation and exploration into a focal point of modern geopolitical competition, constrained by a set of regulations. Despite the existence of a strict treaty—the 1959 Antarctic Treaty—which governs the management of this part of the world, the international rush towards the continent attempts to circumvent this treaty. This study also attempts to be the cornerstone in highlighting the international desires to rush and compete over the lands of this continent, and to divide them, especially among the countries that see that they have sovereign rights over them. This competition and rush is accompanied by taking advantage of climate change, which not only removes the ice from the lands of the continent, but also removes with it the legal cover that protects it as a global common outside the scope of national sovereignty, especially since the international rush and competition over the rest of the commons, especially the high seas and outer space, has begun to develop at the highest levels, and it is not reasonable for the South Pole to remain far from that.

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