Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Emergence and Impact of Law in Oceanic Space

所有社会和法律机构、关系和做法都位于和分布在空间中。这项研究的重点是海洋空间作为一个活跃的社会和空间领域，其中关于用户权利和访问权的主张和反主张越来越多。此外，这项研究超越了通常认为海洋是平坦、空旷的空间的看法，将海洋地区视为文化实践、身份认同和斗争展开、新法律规范出现和执行的环境。这项工作突出了国际海上安全标准与实际做法和能力之间存在的矛盾和不足，并审查了海洋法和海洋空间竞争。因此，这项研究对海洋治理、海洋空间的社会监管以及了解美国具有战略利益的地区的冲突来源具有更广泛的影响。博士生唐纳德·安德伍德将在布伦达·查尔芬博士的指导下进行这项研究，重点是加纳海岸外的西非海洋空间。非洲联盟宣布2015-2025年为非洲海洋十年，自2010年加纳开始生产石油和天然气以来，近海生命生态变得更加活跃和复杂。加纳-S西部海域正在经历快速变化，渔民越来越担心新的石油勘探和开采活动的影响。鉴于海洋空间的迅速变化和各国大力推进其近海利益的努力，这项研究进行了为期12个月的民族志田野工作，以了解近海水域是如何通过领土空间、历史权利和国际法的概念进行社会建设、组织和合法化的。这项研究包括对移徙渔民、近海钻井平台工人和供应商、海事专家和执法人员的采访，以及侧重于在海上工作的做法和经验以及管理西非海洋空间的新努力的数据分析。

All social and legal institutions, relations and practices are located and distributed in space. This research focuses on ocean space as an active social and spatial field where there are increasing claims and counter claims regarding user rights and access. In addition, going beyond the common perception that oceans are flat, empty spaces, this study examines oceanic regions as environments where cultural practices, identities and struggles unfold and new legal norms emerge and are enforced. The work highlights contradictions and inadequacies that exist between international standards for maritime security and actual practices and capabilities, and examines ocean law and competition over oceanic space. As such, the research has broader impacts for maritime governance, social regulation of maritime space, and understanding sources of conflict in regions where the U.S. has strategic interests. Doctoral student Donald Underwood, supervised by Dr. Brenda Chalfin, will conduct this research focusing on West African ocean space off the coast of Ghana. The African Union has declared the years 2015-2025 to be the Decade of African Seas and Oceans, and, since oil and gas production began in Ghana in 2010, the ecology of life offshore has become more active and complex. The waters off of Ghana?s Western Region are undergoing rapid transformation, and there have been increasing concerns from fishing communities regarding the impacts of new oil exploration and extraction activities. Given the rapid transformation of ocean space and energetic efforts of nations to advance their offshore interests, this study conducts 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork to understand how offshore waters are being socially constructed, organized and legitimated through notions of territorial space, historic entitlement, and international law. The research includes interviews with migratory fishermen, offshore drilling platform workers and suppliers, maritime experts, and law enforcement agents and data analysis that focuses on the practices and experiences of working at sea and emerging efforts to govern West African ocean space.