The Geopolitics Of Deep Oceans

Long regarded as an empty and inhospitable environment, the deep ocean is rapidly emerging as an ecological hot spot with a remarkable diversity of biological life. Yet, the worlds oceans are currently on a dangerous trajectory of decline, threatened by acidification, oil and gas drilling, overfishing, and, in the long term, deep-sea mining, bioprospecting, and geo-engineering. In The Geopolitics of Deep Oceans, noted environmental sociologist John Hannigan examines the past, present and future of our planets final frontier. The author argues that our understanding of the deep - its definition, boundaries, value, ownership, health and future state - depends on whether we see it first and foremost as a resource cornucopia, a political chessboard, a shared commons, or a unique and threatened ecology. He concludes by locating a new storyline that imagines the oceans as a canary-in-the-mineshaft for gauging the impact of global climate change. The Geopolitics of Deep Oceans is a unique introduction to the geography, law, politics and sociology of the sub-surface ocean. It will appeal to anyone seriously concerned about the present state and future fate of the largest single habitat for life on our planet.

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation -- and the only admiral to serve as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO -- comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world’s most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial element in our current geopolitical path. From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. No one understands this better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. In Sea Power, Admiral Stavridis takes us with him on a tour of the world’s oceans from the admiral’s chair, showing us how the geography of the oceans has shaped the destiny of nations, and how naval power has in a real sense made the world we live in today, and will shape the world we live in tomorrow. Not least, Sea Power is marvelous naval history, giving us fresh insight into great naval engagements from the battles of Salamis and Lepanto through to Trafalgar, the Battle of the Atlantic, and submarine conflicts of the Cold War. It is also a keen-eyed reckoning with the likely sites of our next major naval conflicts, particularly the Arctic Ocean, Eastern Mediterranean, and the South China Sea. Finally, Sea Power steps back to take a holistic view of the plagues to our oceans that are best seen that way, from piracy to pollution. When most of us look at a globe, we focus on the shape of the of the seven continents. Admiral Stavridis sees the shapes of the seven seas. After reading Sea Power, you will too. Not since Alfred Thayer Mahan’s legendary The Influence of Sea Power upon History have we had such a powerful reckoning with this vital subject.

The Indian Ocean is of tremendous geo-political and strategic relevance. More than eighty per cent of global seaborne trade in oil passes through the Ocean. Access to resources is under-regulated (fishing) or has yet to be conceived (deep sea bed mining) and security concerns such as piracy and the stability of strategically located states, are propelling countries to rethink naval capabilities and priorities. This applies to littoral countries as well as to extra-regional powers such as China, Japan, European countries and the United States, each of which is keenly interested in maintaining and securing open sea-lanes of communication. The revival in maritime concern is prompting new dynamics of competition and cooperation in a region that has historically been characterised by dense cultural, economic and political networks. The Indian Ocean is an extensive and expansive space where no one power has been able to hold sway. Hence, multilateralism and open regionalism are key contributors to stability, both in terms of military as well as commercial coordination. In this issue, scholars from Asia, Europe and the US examine institutions and examples of maritime governance within the Indian Ocean including security arrangements, evolving forms of alliance building and counter-balancing, policy planning and forecasting. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region.

In an era of turbulent ocean geopolitics, where environmental concerns and resource extraction are increasing interest in who owns what at sea, this timely book examines the international politics involved in how states delineate ownership and rights in the ocean.

In this “essential guide to the half of our blue planet we call the high seas” (Will McCallum, author of How to Give Up Plastic), one of the world’s leading voices on the issue tracks the race to exploit and protect our last frontier. Two thirds of the world’s oceans lie beyond national borders. Owned by all nations and no nation simultaneously, the high seas are home to some of the richest and most biodiverse environments on the planet. But they are also home to exploitation on a scale that few of us have imagined. Here, out of sight and out of mind, industry and economic progress rule and lax enforcement and apathy are the status quo, underscored by a battle to control, profit from, protect, or obliterate the world’s largest, wildest commons. In this book, Heffernan uncovers the truth behind deeply exploitative fishing practices, investigates the potentially devastating impact of deep-sea mining, and holds to task the Silicon Valley interventionists whose solutions to climate change are often wildly optimistic, radically irresponsible, or both. This is a powerful and deeply researched manifesto calling for the protection and preservation of this final frontier.

States must develop new approaches, maritime policies, strategies and tactics to cruise through the contemporary maritime politics. Soft power, as well as economic, commercial, and logistics factors are of critical importance in establishing marine power. It is critical to promote maritime-related products such as films, serials, literature and art, maritime journalism, and maritime photography as part of governmental policies. Marine and maritime security challenges are becoming more important in today’s world. As a result of all these developments, the preparation of a multidimensional and comprehensive work on the oceans and seas at the global level has been brought to the agenda. Our book has been written to elucidate these concerns and contribute to this important scholarly and policy field. This book can also be useful for wider audiences as a comprehensive volume on maritime geopolitics covering many cases from around the world and discussions from Turkish perspectives. CONTENTS PREFACE PART 1. ANTARCTIC AND ARCTIC MARITIME SECURITY INTERACTION WITHIN LIBERALISM, REALISIM AND CRITICAL THEORIES – Burak Şakir Şeker and Hasret Çomak Global Geopolitical Shift: Balance of Power in The Arctic – Ferdi Güçyetmez BALTIC STATES AND ARCTIC NEGOTIATIONS – Öncel Sençerman UNDERSTANDING THE ANTARCTIC BIODIVERSITY AND TURKISH CONTRIBUTION TO ITS PROTECTION – Bayram Öztürk and Mehmet Gökhan Halıcı PART 2. INDIAN AND PACIFIC OCEAN GEOPOLITICS SECURITIZATION PROCESS OF INDO-PACIFIC AND ASIA-PACIFIC THROUGH IR THEORIES WITHIN MARITIME SECURITY INTERACTION – Burak Şakir Şeker THE GEOPOLITICS OF INDO PACIFIC REGION – İnci Sökmen Alaca ASEAN AND ITS ROLE IN THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC – Ahmet Ateş and Süleyman Temiz REGIONAL CHALLENGES AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: THE COMPLEX REALITIES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC GEOPOLITICS – Amba Pande THE WIDER NORTH AND THE NEW GEOPOLITICS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC: CRYOPOLITICS – Ebru Caymaz and Fahri Erenel PART 3. MARITIME POLICIES OF GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ACTORS THE AFRICAN UNION’S MARITIME SECURITY STRATEGY AND ITS IMPACT ON CONTINENTAL PEACE AND STABILITY – Asena Boztaş and Huriye Yıldırım Çınar CONTEMPORARY GEOPOLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE ATLANTIC: ACTORS, ISSUES, AND COOPERATION – Ahmet Ateş THE GEOPOLITICAL SCENARIOS OF THE “QUAD” COUNTRIES, THE UNITED STATES, JAPAN, AUSTRALIA AND INDIA – Duygu Çağla Bayram RUSSIAN NAVAL DOCTRINE AND RUSSIAN NAVY MODERNIZATION – Ahmet Sapmaz THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF THE CASPIAN SEA FOR REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ACTORS – Volkan Tatar MEDITERRANEAN GEOPOLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL BALANCE – Hüseyin Çelik EXISTING AND PROSPECTIVE CENTRAL PARADIGMS OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ENERGY GEOPOLITICS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: DO / WILL ALL THE RELATED PARTIES SEEK FOR COLLABORATIONS OR CONFRONTATIONS? – Sina Kısacık TURKEY’S INTEGRATION OF ITS MIDDLE EAST – EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (ME-EM/MEM) AND CYPRUS (MEM-C) STRATEGIES IN ITS FOREIGN POLICY – Soyalp Tamçelik THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER AND TURKEY’S STRUGGLE IN THE BLUE HOMELAND – Doğan Şafak Polat THE GEOPOLITICAL REALITY OF THE ISLAND SEA – Hüseyin Çelik PART 4. MARITIME COMMERCE, ECONOMICS AND MARINE ENVIRONMENT A SHORT HISTORY OF MARITIME TRADE – Haldun Aydıngün AUTOMATION AND CYBERSECURITY IN MARITIME COMMERCE – Alaettin Sevim GEOSTRATEGIC AND GEOPOLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING MARITIME ECONOMICS – Murat Koray MARITIME SPATIAL PLANNING FOR GLOBAL COMMONS – Dinçer Bayer BLUE ECONOMY AND BLUE GROWTH FORA: A PRELUDE – İ. Melih Baş

In the last few years, it has become abundantly clear that the effects of accelerating climate change will be catastrophic, from rising seas to more violent storms to desertification. Yet why do nation-states find it so difficult to implement transnational policies that can reduce carbon output and slow global warming? In Oceans Rise, Empires Fall, Gerard Toal explains why geopolitical competition is the primary obstacle. In a world of interstate rivalry, nations tend to always prioritize acquiring the fossil fuels necessary for growth in the short term over working toward a zero-carbon future.