Extract

To mark the longevity of Argentine presence and scientific endeavour in Antarctica (since 1904) the influential state-operated television channel, TV P˙blica, aired an advertisement in February 2012, which opened with the phrase above. Significantly, it reminded domestic and international audiences (the advertisement was uploaded to YouTube as well as the DirecciÛn Nacional del Ant·rctico (DNA) website with subtitles in English) of the enduring connections between continental Argentina and Antarctica, manifest through a history of scientific investigation specifically undertaken by Argentine scientists embedded in the Polar Regions. The ambiguous use of the word ëhomelandí is especially intriguing here. Kaplan (2003, p._90) suggests the term ëputs into play a history of multiple meanings, connotations, and associations that work, on the one hand, to convey a sense of unity, security and stability, but more profoundly, on the other hand, work to generate forms of radical insecurity by proliferating threats of the foreign lurking within and without national bordersí. This chapter considers these notions of (dis)unity, (in)stability and (in)security in relation to Argentinaís territorial claims in Antarctica, thinking through the spatial extent of this implied ëhomelandí, as well as the performances and practices which reinforce and police its boundaries.