How could Antarctica become its own independent country?

In the "Legend" trilogy and its sequel "Rebel", author Marie Lu envisioned a far future where Antarctica is a superpower decades after the United States splintered into two separate countries. The cities are built inside climate-controlled domes and are described as being large enough to hold skyscrapers.

After reading through the book series, I wonder how probable it would be to have Antarctica become an independent country (let's call it the Antarctic Republic) either today or in the near future. For the sake of ignoring the politics of claims, let's just say this country is located in Marie Byrd Land, which is not claimed by any country.

What would their economy be? How likely would other countries trade with the AR? Would it be more practical to have the country live in one combined settlement or multiple? Most of all though, could Antarctica becoming a sovereign nation be possible?

posted almost 5 years ago

Nathan Hopp‭

1 reputation 9 0 0 0