Polar Imperative: a History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America

Winner of the 2011 J. W. Dafoe Book Prize
Nominated for the 2011 Sir John A. Macdonald Prize
Nominated for the Lela Common Book Prize for Canadian History

Based on Shelagh Grant’s groundbreaking archival research and drawing on her reputation as a leading historian in the field, Polar Imperative is a compelling overview of the historical claims of sovereignty over this continent’s polar regions. This engaging, timely history examines the unfolding implications of major climate changes; the impact of resource exploitation on the indigenous peoples; the current high-stakes game for control over the adjacent waters of Alaska, Arctic Canada and Greenland; the events, issues and strategies that have influenced claims to authority over the lands and waters of the North American Arctic, from the arrival of the first inhabitants around 3,000 BCE to the present; and sovereignty from a comparative point of view within North America and parallel situations in the European and Asian Arctic.

Polar Imperative is a definitive reference on Arctic history and will redefine North Americans’ understanding of the sovereign rights and responsibilities of this northernmost region.