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Managing the global commons: common good or common sink?

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  • Nico Schrijver

Abstract

The global commons, comprising the areas and resources beyond the sovereignty of any state, build upon the heritage of Grotius’s idea of mare liberum – an idea that aimed to preserve the freedom of access for the benefit of all. However, the old mare liberum idea digressed into ‘first come, first served’ advantages for industrialised countries. Especially at the initiative of developing countries, it has now been replaced by a new law of international cooperation and protection of natural wealth and resources beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. The global commons have thus served as the laboratory for testing new legal principles and the rights and corollary duties emanating from them. Occasionally path-breaking innovations in regulation have been practised, most notably the imposition of a ban on whaling, penalties for the production and use of ozone-depleting substances and the freezing of claims to sovereignty over Antarctica.

Suggested Citation

  • Nico Schrijver, 2016. "Managing the global commons: common good or common sink?," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(7), pages 1252-1267, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:37:y:2016:i:7:p:1252-1267
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2016.1154441
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    Cited by:

    1. Shuangge Wen & Jingchen Zhao, 2020. "The Commons, the Common Good and Extraterritoriality: Seeking Sustainable Global Justice through Corporate Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Chu Li & Wenjin Shen, 2024. "How to Perceive National Governance Networks in the Global Commons of the Earth’s Surface: A Case Study of the Antarctic," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, February.
    3. María-José Gutiérrez & Belén Inguanzo, 2019. "Contributing to Fisheries Sustainability: Inequality Analysis in the High Seas Catches of Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Andrea Salustri, 2021. "Social and solidarity economy and social and solidarity commons: Towards the (re)discovery of an ethic of the common good?," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(1), pages 13-32, March.
    5. Eglė Butkevičienė & Florian Rabitz, 2022. "Sharing the Benefits of Asteroid Mining," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(2), pages 247-258, May.

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