The oceans’ renewed strategic dimension. The new role of military navies

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The end of the Soviet threat saw the apparition of news threats from the sea (piracy, terrorism, illegal immigration, pollution). Ocean control has thus become once again a strategic stake for the States and their safety. This awareness has heretofore disrupted the navy’s contribution, and forced them to change their role. But for the international community, the issue of ocean safety involves much more: as Nicolas Sarkozy advised global action of the international community as a whole (speech delivered on September 16th, 2008 on the fight against piracy), he allowed regional international organisations (NATO and EU) to take over the sea, at the expense of the national actor. This needed to be done because of the countries’ (coastal and victim countries alike) powerlessness to restrain piracy. A new maritime law has to be redefined, in order to take into account the evolutions of the world system : the reference on which it must be rebuilt cannot be the State actor only.