The growing importance of oceans as foundation for future sustainable economic growth is heating up competing territorialization among maritime states. The scramble for marine resources, including fisheries, minerals and energy, and positioning for maritime transport is putting pressure on the world’s oceans. The strategic weight of waterways such as Hormuz Strait, the Black Sea, the South China Sea and the Arctic adds up to this challenge, even as global consensus norms around the Blue Economy emphasize the need to inject conservation and social equity measures in economic development goals. The interests of shipping, energy, mining, tourism, and fisheries sectors, along with environmental advocates and coastal communities are shaping littoral state policies on how to govern their established or contested territorial seas and exclusive economic zones.
The panel invites papers that examine the nexus and strains between these two concepts in theory, and as applied in specific seascape, country, or international settings. Papers on the following topics are welcome: (1) maritime order and governance; (2) constabularization of maritime enforcement; (3) grey zone operations in the maritime space; (4) deployment of AI, drone, and new technology in maritime space; (5) state role in providing key ocean and coastal based infrastructure, and economic regulation; (6) subnational, national, minilateral, and multilateral arrangements to address cross-border crime and environmental harms; (7) blue carbon market and credit; (8) civil society participation (academic marine scientific research, citizen science, non-governmental organization advocacy) in shaping maritime policy; and (9) state bureaucratic or organizational reforms to advance Blue Economy.
