A Política Antártica Brasileira da adesão ao Tratado da Antártica (1975) ao incêndio da Estação Comandante Ferraz (2012)

Abstract

The discovery of Antarctica, the only landmass on Earth without the establishment of a state, opened a range of possibilities for state action. With the creation of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, the only valid legal instrument for the region, the execution of actions on the white continent was conditioned to the deliberations of a limited group of countries. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the creation and development of the Brazilian Antarctic Policy from Brazil's accession to the Treaty in 1975 until the fire at the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station in 2012. This is a qualitative and exploratory research, grounded in the field of the Brazilian Foreign Policy’s History, utilizing primary sources such as national and foreign official documents, as well as secondary sources that support the literature review, with the aim of complementing and filling gaps in the main works on Brazil's activities in Antarctica. The study concluded that, although Brazil entered the issue late, after 1975, its Antarctic Policy remained consistently active, allowing for an autonomous stance in defense of its interests, divided into two major periods: the first between 1975 and 1991, and the second from 1991 until the time frame of this research.