Spaces and Spheres

Abstract

Space is political. The sphere of politics is spatial. Every political order is relational to space. It applies in space (and time)—and may change with it. For most of the time, the world has been understood as the way in which its territories were delineated and used. Today, the popular term to frame such changes is “power shifts”. The most fundamental geopolitical dichotomy, however, is as old as human civilization: land-based power versus sea-based power. Since the days of ancient Greece the issue has been relevant. In the twenty-first century, the spaces of the world are divided among 193 UN member states, to which have to be added around three dozen dependent territories and states of lesser recognition. Yet, territorial acquisition has not lost its appeal and the notion of state sovereignty remains tied to the factual control of land. Residual states or failed states have become a prominent feature of global narratives while the complexity of the maritime agenda, beyond the single issue of climate change and its impact on survival in atoll states and coastal areas, is often underestimated in the international political and academic debate. Together, territorial spaces and maritime spheres frame the future of the global economy and, most likely, also all possible dimensions of geopolitics and the troubles it can bring about.