From claim to right
In the following, we seek to map the process from ratifying the UNCLOS in order to claim an Arctic territory to achieving a sovereign right over the given territory. What we see is a six-step procedure, with the possibility of a loop, returning the petitioner to the second step.
The construction of scientific facts
We have already looked upon the scientific methods, which are either demanded or recommended by the CLCS. Here we will take a closer look at the construction of scientific facts. It must be admitted from that this is not an easy object to investigate, due to the secretiveness with which the national applications are surrounded. As an example, Russia made a report in 2007 with the title "Lomonosov Ridge, Mendeleev elevation part of Russia's shelf". The report is no longer to be found anywhere, on the Web - at least not anywhere, which is accessible for a wider public, ourselves included. In other words, national claims over territories are not visible to the scrutiny of the eye of the general public. Document analysis Even if found, our access to the the national scientific data is limited as a result of our inability to understand the data generated by scientific experts. In this case we turn to a facticity analysis, in order to analyse the form rather than the content. By scaling the force of arguments in two different documents by a five step analysis, we are capable of mapping the way a scientific fact is promoted by language. In stead of looking at the actual scientific claims made by nations, we will take a closer look at the following to documents: a) an article about the tentative Danish claims to the Lomonosov Ridge written by GEUS (the Danish national geological surveys) >> |
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b) an example of an international aerogeophysical study of the Lomonosov Ridge, which is not directly linked to territorial claims. In the first document, we pay attention to the level of facticity, with which the article is written by investigating the language through Bruno Latour's five types of statements ranging from speculation to complete taken-for-granted-ness. The second document allow us to see how the Lomonosov Ridge is turned into a knowable object through magnetic measurements, and gives us an idea as to what kind of facts and arguments will be needed in order to close the controversy regarding the Lomonosov Ridge. |