Forming Maritime Boundaries and Constructing Maritime State Theory in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20059
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0103:History, archaeology, museology, and related fields
• Research Institution: Okayama University (2023); Waseda University (2022)
• Principal Investigator: TAKAHASHI Akihiro 岡山大学, 社会文化科学学域, 准教授 (50961596)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 地中海史 / 商業史 / 国際政治史

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Through this study, I spent two weeks in Italy and Spain researching archives and analyzing the maritime policies of island states such as the Kingdom of Sicily and Majorca, focusing on the previously ambiguously recognized nature of maritime power in the pre-modern Mediterranean world. As a result, we clarified the political use of maritime risks and maritime security by these states and elucidated certain aspects of power construction unique to island states. The findings were presented at an international symposium, where discussions led to the identification of a new challenge: to clarify the legal and ideological background of maritime risk during that period. By addressing this issue, we aim to provide a clearer understanding of the concept of the 'maritime state'.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、これまで曖昧に認識されてきた前近代地中海世界における海上権力の在り方を明確にする。それによって、前近代地中海世界における国際政治における権力構造を、島国の観点から描き従来の国際関係史に一石を投じた。また近現代における海域支配において重要な要素となる領海概念の形成において、その前史を明らかにすることを意味する。現在の複雑化している国際関係に向き合う上で、本研究は歴史的な観点から、主導的な国家だけにとらわれない、多元的な視座を提供する一助となるだろう。