ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, marine spatial planning (MSP) has become the dominant paradigm for marine management. Its ascendancy can largely be explained by reference to its functional versatility. Across jurisdictions and levels of government, one encounters normative descriptions of MSP as an integrative process to cope with the growing demand for ocean space from traditional and emerging maritime sectors while preserving the proper functioning of marine ecosystems. One also finds references to the capacity of MSP to foster determinants of ‘good’ ocean governance, such as evidence-based decision-making. A different story is, however, told by critical MSP studies, a strand of research that seeks to expose, appraise, and reconceptualise the role of politics and power within planning initiatives with a view to reclaiming planning’s radical potential. This introduction positions the book as a legal contribution to the field. In addition to setting out the scope, aims, and structure of the work, it elaborates on the methodology used, which is grounded in legal geography. In foregrounding the interconnection between the legal, the social, and the spatial, legal geography allows for a nuanced analysis of how law shapes planning processes and outcomes, rendering them more or less just.
