Argentina and Chile’s Antarctic colonialism? A postcolonial critique to Eurocentric analysis

The chapter addresses the question of whether colonialism can be a useful concept to analyse the relationship of Argentina and Chile with Antarctica. To do so, it presents a historical analysis based on the perspective of international practices, examining territorial, scientific and economic approaches to Antarctica. The first section presents the concept of colonialism and relates it to the phenomena of imperialism and nationalism, raising some important analytical questions. The second section presents both countries' territorial approach to Antarctica, considering these to be distinct from colonialist approaches. The third section contrasts the early scientific projects of Argentina and Chile with those of European powers during the heroic age of Antarctic expeditions, revealing some important differences. The fourth section explores the way in which both countries approached economic activities in the region as a means to ensure sovereignty in the face of what they regarded as imperialist ambitions, differentiating those approaches from the typical extractive approaches of European powers. The final section presents the chapter's general conclusions, indicating that Argentina and Chile's approaches should not be subsumed into Eurocentric concepts and perspectives, and that colonialism is not a useful concept to assess both countries' attitudes toward Antarctica.