🌏 Fantastic to complete an intensive writing retreat with my co-authors for our forthcoming ocean infrastructure book!
⚓ Tentatively titled ‘The Engineered Ocean: Global Politics in the Age of Infrastructure’, we investigate how infrastructures are reshaping our oceans and examine the complex challenges of controlling, regulating, securing, and understanding these systems.
➡️ We’re almost done writing and can’t wait to see it in print—and to learn what everyone thinks about our ideas!
🙏 Thanks to University of Gothenburg for hosting us.
What challenges are the cost guards of the world facing? This week I had the pleasure to participate in the largest global gathering of coast guards in Rome to find out.
The Rome gathering, organized by the Italian Coast Guard, comprised of back-to back meetings of the Mediterranean, European and Global Coast Guard forums, brought more than 100 delegations to the city. The gathering, which included in person remarks by Giorgia Meloni and the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, was a useful indicator for the key issues currently on the agenda:
Artificial Intelligence and Technology Integration: There was a strong emphasis across all three events on leveraging AI, unmanned systems, big data analytics, and emerging technologies to enhance maritime domain awareness, search and rescue operations, and predictive security capabilities.
International Cooperation and Information Sharing: Discussions prioritized collaborative approaches to maritime challenges, featuring extensive partnerships between coast guards, EU agencies (EMSA, EFCA, FRONTEX), and international organizations for shared training, capacity building, and data exchange.
Climate and Environmental Focus: Significant attention was given to ocean health, climate change impacts, decarbonization of shipping, alternative fuel sources, and environmental enforcement, reflecting the maritime sector’s adaptation to sustainability challenges.
Ensuring that coast guards exchange lessons and promising practices in dealing with these challenges is vital. I look forward to continue observing how international coast guard cooperation unfolds and hopefully some of our upcoming research can be useful. India will host the next Global Coast Guard Summit in 2027.
Given the changing security environment and the fact that navies are more and more focused on traditional roles coast guards assume a wider spectrum of tasks including in critical maritime infrastructure protection and responding to grey zone tactics.
This term I have the pleasure of teaching a seminar on global ocean politics. The course is designed to familiarize students with the key challenges facing our oceans—from declining ocean health and the intricacies of blue economy management to maritime security—and how these issues are addressed by global policy professionals.
The oceans should form a core part of International Relations curricula, and I’m glad that’s the case in Copenhagen.
I also look forward to working with several master’s students, supervising a range of exciting thesis projects, many of which focus on maritime issues.
After considerable travel over the summer, including trips to Singapore, Taiwan, Mauritius, and the Maldives, it will be great to catch up with office colleagues and develop our shared projects.
Small island states are at the frontier of maritime security and ocean conservation—a reality I experienced firsthand during my recent visit to the Maldives.
Consisting of more than 1,200 tiny islands, the country relies on inland waterways as its main transport routes, while resort tourism drives the economy. Tuna is the staple food and features in almost all local dishes.
In meetings with the Coast Guard and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I learned about the challenges of managing and safeguarding the maritime economy. While the coast guard is capable and well-equipped, the vast threat landscape makes stronger regional cooperation urgent.
The primary purpose of my visit was to participate in the Theveli Conference, the annual flagship event of the The Maldives National University (MNU). This amazing interdisciplinary gathering brings together researchers interested in the nature, society, and politics of the Maldives and other small island states.
In my keynote address, I discussed how academics can contribute to global ocean politics and how we can improve at translating research into policy, drawing on my experience in maritime security and, most recently, in the UN Security Council. Link to video.
I also taught a short course on linking blue economy to maritime security which led to interesting exchanges on what priorities Maldives should aim for.
Moreover, I participated in a roundtable marking the launch of ‘Small States Maritime Security’ by Athaulla (‘Atho’) Rasheed. The book offers an excellent analysis of maritime challenges facing small states—highly recommended reading.
Delighted to learn that the university is launching two degree programmes on ‘ocean governance’ and on ‘small island state security’ which will be unique educational opportunities in the region.
I look forward to returning to explore more of the islands and their remarkable marine life. Unfortunately, my schedule was too busy, and there wasn’t any time for snorkeling.
Critical maritime infrastructure protection is a global concern, as nations worldwide face the challenge of ensuring the resilience of subsea cables and offshore infrastructure. This week, I visited Taipei to discuss how subsea data cables and offshore green energy installations can be better protected in the island’s waters. I participated in the Ketagalan Forum and met with local security experts and policy makers.
Over recent years, the island has faced a series of accidents that led to cuts in vital data cables. This has made protection a top policy priority, raising questions about how lessons from the Baltic Sea can be adapted to Taiwan.
Yet, the concern should not be with data cables alone. Like the Baltic Sea region, the waters off Taiwan have enormous wind energy potential that could, in essence, fully decarbonize the industry. However, expanding offshore wind will require attention to security concerns.
To enhance resilience, Taiwan will need to draw on international best practices: improve its connectivity, enhance surveillance of its maritime domain, criminalize tampering with infrastructure, strengthen coordination with industry, strengthen repair capacity, and engage in cable diplomacy by working closely with regional neighbors, including Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and ASEAN members, but also global partners such as the EU. Regional coast guard cooperation and information sharing, as well as joint development of surveillance technology, could be vital components of such partnerships.
While my visit was short, it provided a great opportunity to meet colleagues, make new friends, and gain a first impression of Taipei.
I have launched Turbulent Seas – my new newsletter published on LinkedIn. In this new format, I will provide monthly deep dives into global maritime security developments from around the world.
In the first edition I examine recent developments in subsea data cable protection. Cable protection has become a key feature of maritime security and a lot of activities have developed over the last years.
In upcoming editions I will reflect on key developments in regions, such as the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean, but also maritime security solutions, such as coast guard cooperation, or information sharing.
For effective maritime security governance, regional organizations have to work closely to ensure synergies and avoid overlap. In a new policy report published with Trends Research & Advisory (Dubai) I discuss the role of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Western Indian Ocean.
Drawing on a brief discussion of how the Western Indian Ocean faces complex, evolving threats—from traditional piracy to armed attacks on shipping, climate-induced risks and vulnerability of critical infrastructure, I show how both the EU and GCC are major players in regional maritime security, but operate within a fragmented institutional landscape of overlapping mandates. Rather than consolidating institutions, success lies in embracing “adaptive patchwork governance” that leverages diversity while enhancing coordination.
This week I have been contributing to the annual Regional Maritime Practitioner Programme (RMPP) for the fourth time. Organized by the Singapore Navy in partnership with the maritime security team at RSIS | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, RMPP is a major networking and training event for maritime security.
The event reflects that, despite being a small state, Singapore is a major maritime power. The country plays an important role in regional maritime security cooperation. It hosts the most important high-level naval gathering in the region, is known as a pioneer in regional maritime domain awareness through the Information Fusion Center (IFC), and frequently engages in and supports capacity building and training initiatives. The RMPP is one example of this.
At its core, the event is a maritime security community building initiative. It combines educational content with networking and, as the organizers call it, “the Singapore experience” – ample time for the group to explore maritime-related attractions in the garden city.
The event’s stated aim is “to enhance appreciation of the evolving regional maritime security environment and associated security challenges, to build professional knowledge and requisite skills to perform duties as a maritime security practitioner, and to forge friendships and build trust among regional maritime security practitioners.”
About half of the time is spent with lectures and group exercises, while the afternoons are reserved for excursions, including to the splendid Singapore Navy museum (worth a visit!). It also includes attendance at the Shared Awareness Meeting (SAM) through which the IFC keeps the local maritime industry informed about maritime security trends.
About 150 officials from navies, coastguards, and the maritime industry participated this year. Initiatives such as the RMPP are partially a confidence building measure, but also ensure interoperability and the relationships of trust that the IFC’s information sharing network relies on.
The direct impact of events such as RMPP is difficult to measure. Yet, it is part of a global chain of such events, which arguably have had the effect of building a strong maritime security consensus over the last decades.
Our new book titled the ‘Politics of Global Ocean Regions’ is now available through Springer. Edited with Elizabeth Mendenhall and Rebecca Strating, the book advances a novel analytical framework for studying the politics of global ocean regions, shedding new light on the complex interactions in ocean spaces such as the Arctic, Indo-Pacific, and Indian Ocean.
We want to show that the oceans are not just vast expanses of blue, but dynamic political spaces shaped by complex regional dynamics. This work is the outcome of a three year research collaboration with leading experts across different ocean regions. It includes chapters by by William Waqavakatoga, Joanne Wallis, Samuel Bashfield, Leandra R. Gonçalves, Ana Flávia Barros-Platiau, Carlos Henrique Tomé, Carina Costa de Oliveira, and Andreas Østhagen, as well as by the three editors.
Written for students, researchers, and analysts interested in regionalism and ocean governance, this comprehensive study:
Presents a novel framework for analyzing ocean regions as political spaces
Examines the emergence, organization, and effects of global ocean regions
Demonstrates the importance and complexity of regional maritime politics
Provides essential insights for understanding the governance of global commons
I hope this work will serve as an essential resource for understanding how diverse and complex regional maritime politics shape our world, providing a valuable framework to guide future research in this critical field.
