Overview

Marine resources and spaces are increasingly economically, environmentally and politically “secured”, then militarized as matters of geopolitical security and finally controlled through technologies of monitoring, surveillance, and resistance. Because of this, the blue economy requires and justifies the governance of maritime space: it creates economic and political opportunities and generates knowledge and interventions, increasingly leading to the territorialization of the sea. Understanding the implications of such territorialization in an era of geopolitical tensions is as fundamental for governing current marine activities as it is for planning our future seas.

Ahead of the Stockholm+50 international conference, this pre-event will provide a space to informally discuss the implications of the current geopolitical landscape for a sustainable blue economy and how cooperation can contribute to overcome an increased securitized environment. The focus will be on assessing the role of transboundary cooperation at regional and international levels and the ways in which innovation – in policy, business models, as well technical – can facilitate cooperation, contribute to securing the provision of critical services, while ensuring ocean health.