Capitalism, modernity, and the territorial construction of ocean-space

While ocean-space has played a crucial role in the construction of the world-economy it has generally been studied by geographers and other social scientists as a space outside society. Most social scientists implicitly define the space of "society" as land-space--the space of everyday production and reproduction bounded into territorially-defined political units. Economic geographers generally identify social space as the array of potential locations for spatially fixed investments. The sea has traditionally been viewed as space used by society, but it has not generally been viewed as part of the space of society.;In contrast, this dissertation posits that ocean-space is constructed amidst the social processes and institutions underlying the formation of political-economic systems. Specifically, in the modern era the construction of ocean-space, like land-space, has been imbedded in the spatial patterns that reproduce and are reproduced by the dialectical processes of capitalism.;To support this thesis, the dissertation investigates a number of historical ocean-space constructions, a "construction" being an assemblage of distinct uses, regulations, and representations. Each historical construction has been accompanied by a specific degree of territoriality exercised in ocean-space. Through an analysis of various non-modern societies, three ideal-type ocean-space constructions are identified: Micronesia, the Roman Mediterranean, and the pre-modern Indian Ocean.;Following this theoretical investigation of pre-capitalist spatiality and ocean-space territoriality, the dissertation turns to a study of ocean-space constructions in three eras of capitalism: merchant capitalism (mercantilism), industrial capitalism, and postmodern capitalism. The dissertation then considers several potential future ocean-space constructions, evaluating the changes in political economy that might induce and flow from each option. It concludes by reasserting the need for socio-spatial theories to consider that the ocean, like land-space, is an essential space of society, constructed within the dynamics of an era's political economy. This perspective may be used for evaluating potential constructions of other global spaces not currently incorporated within the territory of states but likely to play an increasingly important role in the world political-economic system.