Areas beyond national jurisdiction are moving higher on the global political agenda. New economic and strategic interests – from seabed minerals to outer space and the polar regions – are testing existing legal frameworks and institutions. FrontierLaw examines how international law, norms and guidelines develop in such settings, and what this reveals about the relationship between law and geopolitics.
Project description
Areas beyond national jurisdiction are gaining geopolitical significance. This applies in particular to four domains: the High Seas, outer space, Antarctica and the Central Arctic Ocean. These are areas with limited access, complex governance structures and no single sovereign authority. At the same time, they are increasingly shaped by economic interest, technological change and strategic rivalry.
FrontierLaw analyses how international law and governance mechanisms evolve in these domains. What role do non-binding norms and guidelines play in shaping state behaviour? To what extent can legal frameworks manage tensions between states, and when do they come under strain?
The project is organised into four work packages:
The High Seas
We examine the regulation of seabed mining within the International Seabed Authority and the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, focusing on the interaction between legal mechanisms and geopolitics.
Outer Space
We analyse governance responses to increasing military activity in space, as well as ongoing efforts to establish legal frameworks for resource extraction.
Antarctica
We study developments within the Antarctic Treaty System towards 2048 and the implementation of marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean.
The Central Arctic Ocean and the Arctic
We examine governance of the Central Arctic Ocean through science cooperation, the Law of the Sea and political agreements, and analyse how legal frameworks are affected by growing geopolitical tensions.
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The project is led by Andreas Østhagen at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and brings together legal scholars and political scientists from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the University of Oslo, the University of British Columbia, the University of Canterbury, Harvard University and the National University of Singapore.
Project period: 2026–2029
