Sea and International Relations

Benjamin de Carvalho is a Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International RelationsHalvard Leira is a Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Relations

• Introduction Staring at the sea – Benjamin de Carvalho and Halvard Leira1 IR’s sea sickness: a materialist diagnosis – Alejandro Colás2 The symbolic space of the sea: mythologising a nation, performing an alliance – Maria Mälksoo3 The white man and the sea? Gender, race, and foundations of order – Halvard Leira and Benjamin de Carvalho4 Boundaries in the sea: the production of political space in the early modern colonial Atlantic – Mark Shirk5 Challenging order at sea: the early practice of privateering – Benjamin de Carvalho and Halvard Leira6 A sea of connectivity and entanglement: modern mobilities and ancient thalassocracies in the Mediterranean Sea – Andonea Dickson7 Constructing insecure maritime spaces: navigational technologies and the experience of the modern mariner – Jessica K. Simonds8 Obligations erga omnes and the common heritage of mankind under the Law of the Sea Convention – Filippa Sofia Braarud9 Fishing for territory: historical IR and the environment – Kerry GoettlichConclusion: International terraqueous relations – Xavier Guillaume and Julia Costa LópezIndex

'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 in our discipline of International Relations.'Rebecca Adler-Nissen, Copenhagen University'International Relations mostly treats the politics of the sea as a background constant, thanks to two centuries of Anglo-American naval hegemony. But no state’s naval hegemony is eternal, which makes it all the more interesting to explore the long history of high-seas politics, as this volume does. Collectively, the authors and editors bring a wealth of knowledge to a fascinating topic.'Jeff Colgan, Brown University'The sea and International Relations is a terrific volume that masterfully calls out International Relations’ (IR) 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 offers a collection of interesting contributions and new strategies for the discipline of International Relations (IR) to better engage with the sea and the oceans. This edited volume brings together contributors with varying research interests, from maritime security to the history of empires and from privateering to the mobility and riches of the ocean. Each contributor offers their distinctive perspective on the role of the sea/ocean in our theorizing on world politics.'Milla Vaha, International Affairs 99: 2, 2023