Documents have the power to modify and transform the real world. This essay utilizes a material-semiotic approach in order to explore a communique from the European Commission on the Blue Growth initiative, that proposes new ways for policy maker to expand economic prosperity in the European ocean. The document demonstrates how the demands of the European Union are imprinted on the sea, making the ocean part of the ‘blue’ economy, the labor market, and the politics of a European identity. Through this process a whole ecosystem is made subject to an economic and political institution.
Table of Contents
1. Growing into the Blue
2. Approaching the Sea - Setting Sail
3. Conceptualizing the Sea
4. Value out of the Blue
4.1. Plenty more fish in the sea
4.2. Imprinting Europe on the Sea
5. Forging a New Ocean
Research Objectives and Themes
This essay explores how European Union policy documents, specifically the "Blue Growth" initiative, actively shape and transform the ocean into a site of economic production. By employing a material-semiotic approach, the work investigates how the EU projects its political and economic demands onto the maritime domain, effectively turning a natural ecosystem into a governable, commodified resource.
- The role of policy documents in constructing and modifying reality.
- Economic growth as a primary driver of European maritime strategy.
- The commodification of marine ecosystems through technology and regulation.
- The intersection of European identity, labor markets, and the blue economy.
- The performative power of valuation practices within governmental institutions.
Excerpt from the Book
4.2. Imprinting Europe on the Sea
What is made clear, right from the start is that Europe depends on the sea. But what is more interesting is how the sea presents itself as part of the innovation document. When one would envision the value of the sea, images of dynamic swarms of fish, dashing around in marvelous shapes and forms, might come to mind. Maybe one would even think about pressures metals or oil buried in the depths of the see. While these things are part of Blue Growth in some way, the sea is approached from the completely opposite direction – not as a place of life and energy but rather as a hotbed of jobs and monetary value. This is apparent right at the start of the document:
The EU's blue economy represents 5.4 million jobs and a gross added value of just under €500 billion per year. In all, 75% of Europe’s external trade and 37% of trade within the EU is seaborne. Much of this activity is concentrated around Europe's coasts [...] The sea and the coasts are drivers of the economy (European Commission, 2012, p. 3).
But not just at the start, throughout our journey across the document this way of looking at the ocean is the primary lens Blue Growth is utilizing to shape the European ocean. While one could measure the importance and success of maritime industries in the amount of fishes caught, energy produced, not to speak of the biodiversity restored or sustain, the only graphic of the report measures employment and gross value added (GVA). Without a doubt jobs and money are connected to the resources of Europe’s maritime environment. However, Blue Growth looks at the sea with a perspective that does not see the ocean as a part of nature but rather as a market economy that can be incentivized to create jobs or generate money.
Summary of Chapters
1. Growing into the Blue: This chapter introduces the research context, positioning the ocean as a crucial, complex ecosystem that the modern growth imperative seeks to integrate into the human sphere of influence.
2. Approaching the Sea - Setting Sail: This section establishes the research purpose, focusing on how the "Blue Growth" document functions as an instrument that imprints European political and economic interests onto the sea.
3. Conceptualizing the Sea: This chapter provides the theoretical framework, utilizing material-semiotics to explore how documents serve as tools for administrative and economic control over nature.
4. Value out of the Blue: This chapter analyzes the specific design and content of the "Blue Growth" document, examining how it promotes maritime industries and reshapes the ocean as a commodified economic resource.
5. Forging a New Ocean: The concluding chapter synthesizes the findings, reflecting on how the performance of valuation in policy documents effectively transforms the ocean into an integral component of the European project.
Keywords
Blue Growth, European Union, Maritime Economy, Material-Semiotics, Commodification, Economic Valuation, Policy Documents, Innovation, Marine Ecosystems, Labor Market, European Identity, Sustainability, Bioeconomy, Governance, Offshore Energy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The work examines how the European Union's "Blue Growth" policy initiative frames the ocean as an economic resource, thereby transforming natural ecosystems through administrative and political intervention.
What are the primary thematic areas covered in the analysis?
The study covers the intersection of European maritime strategy, the commodification of nature, the role of institutional paperwork in shaping reality, and the promotion of economic growth via technology.
What is the central research question?
The central question asks how the specific demands of the European Union, as outlined in the "Blue Growth" communique, are imprinted onto the European sea.
Which scientific methodology is employed?
The author uses a material-semiotic approach, drawing from Science and Technology Studies (STS) and economic sociology, to analyze how documents performatively construct reality.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body investigates the design of the "Blue Growth" communique, the push for offshore energy, the regulation of aquaculture, and the general efforts to maximize the gross added value of maritime industries.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Blue Growth, European Union, commodification, material-semiotics, maritime economy, and socio-political construction of nature.
How does the author characterize the "Blue Growth" document itself?
The document is viewed not merely as an informational text, but as a powerful, transformative tool that defines the sea as an extension of the labor market and a target for economic expansion.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding the impact of these policies?
The author concludes that these policy documents are performative; they do not just describe the ocean but actively reshape it, turning organic and inorganic elements into components of a European political and economic project.
- Quote paper
- M.A. Stefan Raß (Author), 2019, An Ocean of Value. How the Demands of the Union are Imprinted on the European Sea, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1001851
