Elisabeth Mann-Borgese remarked that “the ocean is a medium […] so different [...] that it forces us [...] to ‘refocus’ […]. Fundamental concepts […] like sovereignty, geographic boundaries, or ownership, simply will not work [...], new […] concepts are emerging” (1998). Mann-Borgese’s thoughts today echo in the goals of the UN Ocean Decade (2021-2030), calling for a change in human relationships with the ocean. Reforming ocean policies, ocean-related decision-making and institution-building, and the constitution of oceanic orders raise questions at the core of political science and, in particular, political theory, which however often still suffer from “seablindness” (Bueger/Edmunds 2017). We’ll try to remedy this – by studying the idea historical and conceptual foundations of the international law of the sea as well as contemporary theoretical perspectives on ocean politics and, along the way, getting to know a variety of areas of ocean politics and governance and their contemporary challenges. Our discussions will cover debates on freedom, sovereignty and territoriality at sea, materialist perspectives on capitalism and the sea, controversies on the legitimacy of current institutions of ocean governance as well as debates on ocean justice and sustainability. An underlying issue that will accompany us throughout the semester is the question in how far oceanic politics and orders differ from land-based politics and institution-building, or, more fundamentally still, what kind of political space the ocean actually is. The course will have a political theory focus, but also include selected readings from international relations and international law. Studienleistung: brief presentation, memo & term paper proposal Prüfungsleistung: term paper Literature • Armstrong, C. (2022): A Blue New Deal: Why We Need a New Politics for the Ocean. New Haven: Yale University Press. • Bosco, D. (2022). The Poseidon Project. The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Bueger, C. & Edmunds, T. (2017). Beyond Seablindness: A new Agenda for Maritime Security Studies. International Affairs 93(6): 1293-1311. • Campling, Liam & Alex Colás (2021). Capitalism and the sea: the maritime factor in the making of the modern world. London/New York: Verso. • Mann-Borgese, E. (1998). The Oceanic Circle: Governing the Seas as a Global Resource. United Nations University Press. • Peters, K. & Steinberg, P. (2019). The Ocean in Excess: Towards a More-than-Wet Ontology. Dialogues in Human Geography 9(3): 293–307. • Ranganathan, S. (2019). Ocean Floor Grab: International law and the Making of an Extractive Imaginary. European Journal of International Law 30(2): 573-600. • Steinberg, P. (2001). The Social Construction of the Ocean. Cambridge University Press. • World Ocean Review (2021): Anspruch und Wirklichkeit des Meeresmanagements. WOR 7. Online unter: https://worldoceanreview.com/de/wor-7/anspruch-und-wirklichkeit-des-meeresmanagements/ (22.07.2024).

Kurs im HIS-LSF