Africa and the Deep Seabed Regime: Politics and International Law of the Common Heritage of Mankind

This book bridges an essential gap in the existing literature by examining the role of the African States in the development and establishment of the regime for the deep seabed beyond national jurisdictions and in keeping with the concept of the common heritage of mankind. It explores the African States contributions to the creation and evolution of the international legal norms related to the regime and places these contributions in the context of vital historical, social, political and economic factors influencing their attitudes toward international law. In addition, the book points to connections between international legal norms developed with regard to the regime and developmental / geopolitical issues. For the African States the regime was not just about the construction of legal rules, but also provided an avenue to attempt to resolve outstanding north/south issues related to economic and social development. In addition, the book considers the possible hindrances to the effective involvement of the African States in this regime, including participation in seabed mining activities, and possible cooperative strategies that they might embark on to overcome such hindrances.