Repository logo
 

Ocean Floor Grab: International Law and the Making of an Extractive Imaginary

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Ranganathan, S 

Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:pIn this article, I argue for a critical recognition of the law of the sea, as it developed from the post-war period, as fostering a ‘grab’ of the ocean floor via national jurisdiction and international administration. I discuss why we should view what might be discussed otherwise as an ‘enclosure’ or ‘incorporation’ of the ocean floor within the state system as its grab. I then trace the grounds on which the ocean was brought within national and international regimes: the ocean floor’s geography and economic value. Both were asserted as givens – that is, as purely factual, but they were, in fact, reified through law. The article thus calls attention to the law’s constitutive effects. I examine the making of this law, showing that law-making by governments was influenced by acts of representation and narrative creation by many non-state actors. It was informed by both economic and non-economic influences, including political solidarity and suspicion, and parochial as well as cosmopolitan urges. Moreover, the law did not develop gradually or consistently. In exploring its development, I bring into focus the role played by one influential group of actors – international lawyers themselves.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

4803 International and Comparative Law, 48 Law and Legal Studies, 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Journal Title

European Journal of International Law

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0938-5428
1464-3596

Volume Title

30

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)