INFOGRAPHIC: The race for Arctic domination
Nowadays, the question is, will the Arctic frontier become an ecological preserve or an economic engine, an area of international cooperation or confrontation?
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris (Nov 30 to Dec 11) will cast a worried eye at the unfolding geopolitical competition surrounding the Arctic. A pressing environmental issue, the melting ice around the North Pole is also creating new opportunities at the top of the world. Nations are scrambling to lay claims on the Arctic in the form of territorial waters, abundant natural resources and transit routes. This fierce rivalry has already led to some experts referring to a new cold war.
To build and manage the Panama Canal, the United States pushed through Panama's independence from Colombia and spent more on this construction project than on any other before. To create the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government leased its land to a private French company, which used forced labour to complete the project. Nowadays, the question is, will the Arctic frontier become an ecological preserve or an economic engine, an area of international cooperation or confrontation?
