Fluid Boundaries: Reassessing Maritime Spaces and Nomadic Waves in International Relations Theory

Abstract Covering more than seventy percent of the Earth’s surface, the sea is a pivotal element in International Relations. It has served as the stage for critical global interactions, conflicts, and shifts, from the ascendancy of the Iberian empires in the 16th century to the waning of British dominance in the 20th century. Today, it remains at the heart of contemporary geopolitical tensions, exemplified by disputes in the South China Sea and the opening of new maritime routes in the Arctic due to global warming. Yet, despite its undeniable importance, the sea poses a unique challenge to International Relations, stemming from its intrinsic complexity and the tendency to apply land-based frameworks to maritime contexts. In order to help the field to overcome some of these theoretical challenges, this article draws on psychoanalytic theories and current discussions in philosophy and anthropology to suggest that the discipline’s difficulty in addressing maritime issues arises from a rigid adherence to obsolete, binary views on nomadism and sedentarism. Therefore, the interplay between nomadic and sedentary drives is sublimated in the development of institutions and maritime technologies, enabling state territorial nomadism, contrasting with the suppression of dominance through the embrace of alterity.