The Sea and International Relations

• 26 juli 2022
• 9781526155108

Samenvatting:

This path-breaking collection opens up the conversation about the sea and International Relations and probes the value of analyzing the sea in terms of International Relations.

'This beautifully edited book tells a new and incredibly rich story of the sea. Each chapter not only unsettles our geopolitical imaginaries, but also invites us to think deeper about the ways in which oceans and waterways continue to shape the conditions of possibility of world politics. This is an outstanding volume that is likely to make a splash.'
Rebecca Adler-Nissen, University of Copenhagen

'Collectively, the authors and editors bring a wealth of knowledge to a fascinating topic.'
Jeff Colgan, Brown University

'A terrific volume that masterfully calls out International Relations’ terrestrial bias, and makes a compelling case for extending IR’s conceptual and empirical horizons seawards. Pirates and privateers, merchants, revolutionaries and empire-builders all feature in a scintillating series of interventions that together match formidable historical breadth with startling contemporary relevance. Anchors away, IR scholars – it’s time to set sail!'
Andrew Phillips, University of Queensland

The Sea and International Relations is a path-breaking collection that brings the sea to International Relations (IR), and explores the value of analysing the sea in IR terms.

While the world’s oceans cover more than seventy percent of its surface, the sea has largely vanished as an object of enquiry in IR. This volume breaks with this trend of oceanic amnesia and seeks to begin theoretical, conceptual and empirical discussions about the sea and IR, offering novel viewpoints on the spatiality of world politics, analysing broad historical perspectives and addressing contemporary challenges.
In bringing the sea back into IR, the book reconceptualises the canvas of international relations to include the oceans as social, political, economic and military spaces that affect the workings of world politics.

While the world’s oceans cover more than seventy percent of its surface, the sea has largely vanished as an object of enquiry in International Relations (IR), being treated either as a corollary of land or as time. Yet, the sea is the quintessential international space, and its importance to global politics has become all the more obvious in recent years. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights from IR, Historical Sociology, Blue Humanities and Critical Ocean Studies, The sea and International Relations breaks with this trend of oceanic amnesia, and kickstarts a theoretical, conceptual and empirical discussion about the sea and IR, by highlighting theoretical puzzles, analysing broad historical perspectives and addressing contemporary challenges. In bringing the sea back into IR, the book reconceptualises the canvas of international relations to include the oceans as a social, political, economic and military space which affects the workings of world politics.