Why the Twenty-First Century Requires a New Science of Ocean Geopolitics

 


Why the Twenty-First Century Requires a New Science of Ocean Geopolitics

By Artur Victoria

The oceans are entering a new era of strategic importance. For centuries they were primarily regarded as routes connecting nations through trade, exploration and naval power. Today, however, they have become far more than maritime highways. They are increasingly the central arena where geopolitics, technology, economics, security, environmental sustainability and international governance converge.

This profound transformation raises an important question. Can the complexity of the contemporary maritime domain still be adequately understood through existing academic disciplines alone?

International Relations explains interstate behaviour. Maritime Strategy analyses the use of sea power. International Maritime Law establishes the legal framework governing the oceans. Oceanography provides scientific knowledge of marine systems, while Economics and Environmental Science contribute essential perspectives on maritime development and sustainability.

Each discipline remains indispensable. Yet none, when considered independently, fully explains the increasingly interconnected strategic realities of the twenty-first century.

The Ocean Century

More than ninety per cent of global trade by volume continues to move by sea. The world's digital communications depend on submarine fibre-optic cables crossing the oceans. Offshore energy production, maritime logistics, autonomous shipping, artificial intelligence, climate change, marine biodiversity and strategic competition increasingly interact within the same maritime environment.

The oceans are no longer simply geographical spaces between continents. They have become integrated strategic systems that influence international stability, economic resilience and technological development.

This transformation requires new ways of thinking.

Beyond Traditional Maritime Studies

The growing complexity of maritime affairs cannot be fully explained by examining political, legal, technological or environmental issues separately. Contemporary maritime challenges emerge precisely through the interaction of these different dimensions.

Ocean Geopolitics proposes an integrated analytical framework capable of connecting these perspectives into a coherent understanding of the maritime domain.

Rather than replacing existing disciplines, Ocean Geopolitics brings together their contributions to explain how geography, power, governance, economics, technology, law, security and environmental processes collectively shape the international system.

Towards a New Scientific Discipline

This approach forms the basis of my latest publication:

OGC Working Paper No. 002

Why the Twenty-First Century Requires a New Science of Ocean Geopolitics: Towards the Recognition of Ocean Geopolitics as an Autonomous Multidisciplinary Discipline

The Working Paper argues that Ocean Geopolitics should be recognised as an emerging multidisciplinary scientific discipline. It develops its conceptual foundations, proposes its scientific architecture, identifies its principal research domains and examines its implications for universities, governments and international organisations.

Open Access Publication

The complete Working Paper is freely available through Zenodo.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21427684

I hope this contribution will encourage further discussion concerning the future of maritime studies and the growing strategic importance of the oceans in the twenty-first century.

Keywords: Ocean Geopolitics, Maritime Geopolitics, Ocean Governance, Maritime Security, Blue Economy, Ocean Intelligence, Strategic Studies, International Relations, Maritime Strategy.

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