Whales and Nations examines the efforts of twentieth-century diplomats to regulate the global whaling industry through international conventions. It provides a succinct history of modern whaling from its origins in the fjords of Norway to its demise in the krill grounds of Antarctica. It offers valuable insights into the development of scientific research on cetacean biology and the emergence of scientific techniques for estimating whale populations and numbers, and it provides an in-depth look at the many attempts to create an international regime designed to make the whaling industry sustainable. Dorsey relies primarily on the traditional tools and methods of historians—archival records, government documents, scientific research, journal and newspaper accounts, and public debates.

A pioneer in the field of environmental diplomacy, Dorsey is keenly aware of the difficulties that beset all efforts to protect commercially valuable resources, especially in the “global commons” of the world’s oceans. He argues that diplomats...

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