ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors address some of the relevant development theories and how they fit in with the choice of maritime cabotage policy in different sovereign states. The idea is to extrapolate an understanding that is synonymous with the various approaches of maritime cabotage law from the various discourses on development. Furthermore, the theories of development that are relevant to the concept of maritime cabotage will be investigated and posited against the concept of 'developmental sovereignty'. The market-friendly approach recognizes that government has a role to play in stimulating the economic development of a developing nation. The neoclassical counterrevolution theory of development argues that the best method of provoking economic development is based on the government allowing the market to operate freely. The public choice approach contends that an economy devoid of government intervention has a good chance of experiencing progressive economic development.
