The Territorialization of the Global Commons: Evidence From Ocean Governance

Daniel Lambach
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Daniel Lambach: Research Centre Normative Orders, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Germany

Politics and Governance, 2022, vol. 10, issue 3, 41-50

Abstract: The international system of states displays an inherent drive to territorialize the global commons. But territorialization is not a continuous process—it occurs in episodes. In this article, I use one case from ocean governance, the expansion of territory into near-shore areas of the seas, to advance a twofold argument about the nature of these episodes. First, I argue that the root causes of this drive to territorialize “empty space” are located in global politics, norms, and economics. Second, a territorializing episode occurs when there are impelling economic incentives, and when great powers are unable or unwilling to oppose territorialization. However, this can lead to different outcomes: sovereign territories, functional territories, or internationalized territories. Oceanic space has seen a series of these territorializing episodes since the end of the Second World War and functional territorialization has become more prevalent over time.

Keywords: global commons; governance; ocean; territory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:poango:v10:y:2022:i:3:p:41-50

DOI: 10.17645/pag.v10i3.5323

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