🔊 What a year! 2024 has been a whirlwind of maritime security developments, research, and engagement.
🔎 The Red Sea crisis and unprecedented attacks on shipping, the rising threat to critical maritime infrastructures we all depend on, the return of piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, environmental degradation, and the continuing need to build stronger maritime security governance institutions across regional seas.
🔝 The numbers tell part of the story: I’ve given 45 talks across the world, published 14 commentaries, a book and 9 research articles, appeared 40+ in media across 13 languages.
Two major milestones stand out:
✅ The publication of “Understanding Maritime Security” with Oxford University Press (with Tim Edmunds) – which first reviewers have described as a “go-to resource” and a “must-read one stop shop”.
✅ and our comprehensive report “Securing the Seas”, marking the beginning of a new partnership with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research to upscale expertise on collective maritime security challenges.
✳️ On the theoretical front, delighted to see two key contributions appear in Global Studies Quarterly: our work on the interaction of communities of practice in ocean governance (with Maren Hofius & Scott Edwards), and a piece rethinking objects and infrastructures in world politics through the lens of modern piracy (with Jan Stockbruegger). Both articles push forward how we think about global governance, the oceans, and materiality in international relations.
🌍 It was a privilege to contribute to major maritime forums: the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium, the Indian Navy’s MILAN Exercise, the UK First Sea Lord’s Sea Power Conference, Shade Med and SHADE 52. These gatherings highlighted how maritime security continues to be at the heart of global affairs, particularly as we grappled with critical infrastructure protection challenges and the evolving Red Sea crisis.
🧶 In 2025, I will continue to comment on the evolving maritime security landscape, and I look forward to expanding the partnership with UNIDIR and develop a maritime security program that can make a difference.
🎢 But it is also time to finish our new book on the implications of the Age of Infrastructure for Global Ocean Politics, watch out for more soon!
🙏 Thank you to all friends, collaborators, partners, and the broader maritime security community for all the support and inspiring conversations, and another remarkable year of working towards safer seas. Here’s to more collaboration in 2025