France, March 22 -- Antarctica is Earth's only uninhabited continent, home to the South Pole, and subject to a delicate balance of cooperation between key players. So what is at stake in the world's southernmost region?

Ordinarily, little disturbs the peace of the white continent - inhabited only temporarily, by the scientists and support staff who come and go to work at its various research stations.

When news emerged this week that a member of a South African research team at one of Antarctica's remote bases has been put underpsychological evaluation after allegedly assaulting and threatening colleagues - who sent an email to authorities pleading to be rescued - it served to highlight the fragility of that peace.

A few weeks prior, a...