Panel 23: Engaging the African Seas: A Comparative Perspective on Trends and Challenges in the Mediterranean, Indian and Atlantic

Although maritime relations are at the crossroads of a variety of domestic, regional, continental and global dynamics and tensions, African states and African international organisations have only recently begun dedicating specific attention to this fundamental issue.

Regular and irregular movements (of people and goods), predatory exploitation of the seabed and depletion of fisheries in the sea surrounding the continent lie at the centre of maritime security and economy, be it in the Mediterranean, in the Indian or in the Atlantic Ocean.

The threats and challenges that African states and the rest of the world are facing today should be understood in the view of their socio-economic, political and cultural dimensions, and require regional, rather than national, approaches. This panel will discuss international maritime relations in different regions of Africa to identify similarities and differences in terms of threats and challenges, as well as which modalities and mechanisms to face to them, and the aims and conduct of regional and extra-regional actors.

We propose to identify and analyse mechanisms and procedures in regional and continental political arenas that address major threats and challenges in African seas in the 21st century.