Abstract
As part of a search for political responses to protect and conserve marine ecosystems, this study explores the discourse on ocean affairs with a special emphasis on the articulation of the concept of sustainability. Drawing on the discourse theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, it is argued that post structuralism offers important insights on the construction of the discourse on maritime-related affairs. The analysis shows that the discourse on ocean affairs is closely tied to the empty signifier “management”, while the analysis of the empty signifier “sustainability” confirms the traditional three dimensional structure comprising economic, social and environmental dimensions, supplemented by an institutional one. The article shows that the use of such signifiers is necessary to define sustainability in all its complexity. In this context, it is argued that Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory provides an approach to grasp the ambiguity of the concept of sustainability. It helps to explain the practice of institutions in rephrasing existing objectives and activities in compliance with sustainability without really changing their business as usual approach. The paper concludes with an estimation of how useful it is to adhere to sustainability in ocean affairs especially in view of the complexity, uncertainty and continuous change of marine ecosystems.
Highlights
In comparison with climate change policies, the threat to ocean health has not been acknowledged as widely despite its far-reaching consequences for international politics
While human-induced climate change has become an urgent issue on political agendas and is increasingly articulated as a major security concern in media and public discourse, the impact of climate change on the ocean has been largely ignored in political discussions
When in 1994 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) treaty entered into force and the concept of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) was accepted, 64 percent (Clark et al 2006: p. 6; Kimball, 2005: p. iii) of the high seas were still not subjected to national sovereignty and continued to represent an open access source to anyone who has the means (Costanza 1999: p. 199)
Summary
In comparison with climate change policies, the threat to ocean health has not been acknowledged as widely despite its far-reaching consequences for international politics. Humankind obtains a multitude of benefits from marine ecosystem services that provide us with food, fresh water, oxygen, raw materials and marine active substances, regulate climate, emission absorption and shoreline protection, support livelihoods as well as job creation and offer opportunities for recreational, spiritual and aesthetic pleasures. The study identifies the key signifiers in the organization of the discourse on ocean affairs, asks how they are filled with meaning, which actors and lines of argumentation are decisive and by which groups the discourse is constituted It will be shown what kind of a picture of sustainability is construed in the hegemonic process and how the ambiguity of meaning of the concept can be explained.
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