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Michael Byers
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Who Owns the Arctic?: Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North Paperback – February 23, 2010

by Michael Byers (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13 ratings
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.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Douglas & McIntyre
  4. Publication date
    February 23, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1553654994
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1553654995
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this comprehensive book, Byers addresses ownership of the oil and gas reserves in the Beaufort Sea, the Arctic activities of the Russians (we shouldn't feel threatened), and the not-so-burning question of who owns tiny Hans Island. As an Arctic-issues primer, this timely, cogent, focused work cannot be beat."—Globe and Mail, Ken McGoogan

About the Author

Michael Byers holds the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Professor Byers has led two projects for ArcticNet, a Canadian government-funded research consortium: the first on the Northwest Passage, the second on competing claims to the oil and gas reserves below the Arctic Ocean. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and Ottawa Citizen and has written for the international newspapers The Guardian, Financial Times and London Review of Books. His most recent books were War Law and the glowingly reviewed Canadian bestseller, Intent for a Nation.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Douglas & McIntyre; First Edition (February 23, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1553654994
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1553654995
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 13 ratings

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Michael Byers

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Top reviews from the United States

  • MM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Gave me a better understanding of what's going on up North!! That's all the words I have! No, that's it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Wanda Spitzer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2013
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    Reading this book is excellent preparation for visiting the arctic, or just excellent reading for understanding more of the world.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Dag Stomberg
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arctic's Strategic Value
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2012
    The Ice is melting! And, sure enough, the international competition is heating-up for the acquisition
    of important resources. The possession of oil, gas, and metals mandate a geopolitical 'race' particularly
    to Russia's advantage.

    All littoral Arctic Countries would benefit from peaceful and cooperative agreements.

    This well written book helps one to understand!

    Dag Stomberg
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Lori Nyenhuis
    3.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite
    Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2013
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    I'm only giving this 3 stars because I had a hard time reading it. It was required reading for a college course. Although the material was interesting, when I could make sense of it; I suppose it just isn't my cup of tea. There are others who would find this book fascinating!
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  • Camila Nader
    4.0 out of 5 stars I like it
    Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2014
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    Great book!
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  • Craig Rowland
    4.0 out of 5 stars No legalese here; a calm and succinct case for a Canadian claim to the Northwest Passage--because it's OURS
    Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2015
    Who Owns the Arctic? Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North by Michael Byers will get your blood boiling if you believe, as I do, that the Northwest Passage is Canadian and not an international waterway. What will be one of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper's legacies during his nine years in office as Canada's twenty-second Prime Minister will be his tough stance on Arctic sovereignty. All waters around the Arctic islands of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories are Canadian. These waters are not international passageways no matter what bodies of water they are connected to:

    "The legal dispute over the Northwest Passage does not concern Canada's title to the waterway. Rather, the United States has long considered that the Passage, which cuts between thousands of indisputably Canadian islands, fulfills the legal criteria for an international strait by connecting two expanses of high seas (the Atlantic and Arctic oceans) and being used for international navigation. From this perspective, Canada owns the waterway, but foreign vessels have a right of 'transit passage,' much like walkers on a footpath through British farmland.
    "In contrast, Canada regards the Northwest Passage as 'internal waters' having the same legal status as the Ottawa River or Lake Winnipeg. Accordingly, foreign vessels must have Canada's permission and are subject to the full force of Canadian domestic law. But while that's clear enough, Canada has changed its legal position several times in the past century--opening it up to charges of inconsistency and, perhaps, weakening the claim."

    Not good for the international take on our own state of affairs. Stephen Harper however meant business from the moment he took office:

    "During his first prime ministerial press conference, in January 2006, Stephen Harper took aim at U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins. The previous day, while speaking to a group of students at the University of Western Ontario, the U.S. envoy had reiterated Washington's decades-old position that the Northwest Passage was an international strait. In response, Harper told reporters, 'We have significant plans for national defence and for defence of our sovereignty; including Arctic sovereignty...It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador from the United States.'"

    Damn right. The worry many Conservatives have is that the new Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will cower to American demands to plow through our Northwest Passage. Trudeau is the personality type to allow anyone to travel through the Passage, for fear of offending them by saying no. Canada does have reason to fear that its security--and the United States for theirs--will be compromised up north. Byers makes a calm and reasonable case scenario where ships of unknown origin may travel through the Passage, carrying contraband of any type. Would Canada be able to confront ships defying our sovereignty? Would we have the nerve to board ships and arrest their crews? Byers states:

    "Much like people who never wash the cars they rent, those who do not own part of the Arctic have little incentive to accept restrictions on access. Mandatory controls are more likely to come through national legislation, which is one reason Canada is adamant that the Northwest Passage constitute internal waters rather than an international strait."

    The issue of passage through Canada's Arctic waterways would not be much of an issue if the region stayed frozen for most of the year. This wasn't a concern when Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan discussed the Northwest Passage thirty years ago. Now however the Passage is ice-free, or can be crossed with the help of an ice-breaking ship, at any time of the year. Why not ensure ships a safe passage by offering one of our own icebreakers? Drop all claims to the Passage, and Canada will do it. If not, shall Canada look the other way when foreign ships sail through our waters? Do we have the military might to back our claims? Byers raises growing acceptance from American authorities in supporting our claim to the Northwest Passage as an internal waterway. He quotes former American ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci:

    "I think, in the age of terrorism, it's in our security interests that the Northwest Passage be considered part of Canada. That would enable the Canadian navy to intercept and board vessels in the Northwest Passage to make sure they're not trying to bring weapons of mass destruction into North America."

    Canada wouldn't want any weapons passing through, nor would we want any ships using the Passage to dump their pollution. Having Canada monitor the ships would ensure they were safe and sound; an environmental disaster such as an oil spill would ruin the area forever.

    For island geeks and border freaks like me, I salivated over the chapter on Hans Island. This little speck between Ellesmere Island and Greenland is the focus of a serious border dispute with Denmark. However, in typical Canadian tradition, we have managed to agree to disagree and share the island and its surrounding waters. We will tolerate each other, yet we sometimes get involved in flag-raising disputes which, when compared to conflict zones in other areas of the world, seem a tad too serious to get ruffled about. Two maps were included in this chapter yet I would have appreciated more maps throughout the entire book. Since I do not own a magic pocket device and thus do not have Internet access on the go, I don't have the luxury of having a portable atlas whenever I need one. Almost all of the places Byers discussed cannot be found on your everyday map of northern Canada. Certain islands, passages and straits are only found on large-scale coffee-table atlases, and I had to consult my enormous National Geographic Atlas of the World, or take the book to a computer and log in to Google Earth to find out more what Byers was talking about.

    In the Canadian tradition of using compromise and seeking peaceful solutions, I leave you with this quotation. It exemplifies the Canadian way of dealing with the sovereignty disputes in the far north:

    "Arctic sovereignty is only partly about using it or losing it. It is also about ensuring that when foreign ships enter Canada's Arctic, they do so on our terms. Let's give other countries an incentive to work with us. Let's build an Arctic Gateway for the world."
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Top reviews from other countries

  • cherifako
    5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent approach of the arctic issue. Used it for my dissertation will not re-sell it. Keeping it for my personal collection
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  • brooke101
    4.0 out of 5 stars Canada's true north strong and free
    Reviewed in Canada on September 6, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I cannot even believe people are not more up in arms about the Cold War that is unfolding, well melting, right above us in the Arctic. Literally, for centuries ships couldn't pass through the Arctic Ocean because of floating icebergs and inclement weather conditions. Thats why the Panama Canal was created!! ships didn't want to risk passing through the African Horn where piracy ran rampant to deliver goods

    Fast forward today, where ice is melting so fast in the Arctic Ocean, climate change has literally created a navigable passageway for international trade that is shorter than even though the man-made Panama Canal. Yet, what is most fascinating of all is no laws are in place to govern these seas. No sovereignty was ever established in the Arctic because the weather conditions alone made in inhabitable, basically unreachable, making sovereignty irrelevant. Today, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, and other countries lying within the Arctic Circle, all stake a claim to these waters.

    This book in particular is fascinating because it stresses how the sovereignty issues can affect how Canadians have identified themselves, "..our true, north strong and free" If we don't go in fighting headfirst, Byers stresses we cud lose this heritage.

    Byers' downfall in the book, while succeeded in bringing to light an important Canadian topic, is his failure to emphasis the claim to the resources underneath these waters. Beneath the Arctic Ocean is enough oil and natural gas to create an Arctic OPEC. Claims to these minerals will control sovereignty issues in the Arctic and the wars already fought after oil and natural gas could be just a prelude to the consequences of this amount of natural wealth in the hands of developed countries.
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  • Jim H
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2018
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    Historical and legal review of a neglected part of Canada.
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