Civilization of humanity is directly related to two basic elements; Transportation and Communication. It is a known fact that 70.8% of our blue planet is covered with waters and 98% of these waters are seas/oceans. Approximately 78% of the world's countries have with coasts to seas and oceans. Fifty percent of the world's population lives in areas located 200 km from the coasts, benefiting from the blessings of water -not only in terms of food, but also in an industrial sense. This fact alone is a sufficient indicator for the efficiency and superiority of utilizing the seas/waters. In other words, the seas/oceans offer a wide living space to human beings on blue planet. With the geographical discoveries in the 15th century, the importance of the seas became more prominent, and humanity realized that it could benefit more from the sea.
So it is very obvious that there is a necessity to create a “holistic” model that will cover all the components of the seas/oceans/waters including the interaction of each component with each other. To apply and, to achieve this approach, the most basic element, a general maritime vision -farsightedness- is necessary. For a contemporary Turkey, the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the first to emphasize and implement this vision with the words "We must adopt maritime as the Turkish national ideal and achieve it in a short time". How far did we achieve this vision? Let's start with this question first.
Have we adopted maritime as our national ideal? How much have we adopted? Did we succeed in a short time? Although the state assumed the mission with a mixed economy model approach for the development of maritime from the first years of the Republic to the 1980s, it was inevitable that multinational companies steered the world economy with the globalization in economic, social and technological terms. Maritime also be affected by globalization together with the striking and rapid developments in the field of communication.
If maritime is going to be a "national ideal" which it definitely should be, we have to acquire as a maritime country in this globalization spiral. It would not be correct to consider maritime separate from globalization, and globalization from maritime. Maritimization i.e. the use of waters/seas/oceans is one of the basic elements of the development of globalization that eliminates the geographical distances. As in the question of -does an egg come from a chicken or a chicken from an egg, evaluation of globalization without the concept of maritimization will never yield a satisfactory result, because; maritimization is one of the dominant dynamics of globalization. This can be achieved by a comprehensive and holistic model of sustainable maritimization.
What is holistic approach? It is to take into account all the benefits throughout the three layers of the sea/oceans/waters, which are; the surface (near coast and far seas), the above-sea up to the near atmospheric layer and, the underwater surface i.e. the interior of the sea and the sea-bottom including all the resources under the sea floor of the whole exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the blue homeland. In the most general sense; it is to be emphasized that it covers everything related to the sea/oceans/waters, such as geographical, hydrographic, oceanographic, geomorphological, atmospheric, etc., in and on the every layer mentioned above. This Holistic Maritimization Model (HMM) is deemed as a "puzzle-game" game; one can define it as “obtaining different shapes by combining parts”.
Our aim is to develop a logical model—a master algorithm—in which the interactions of all components of maritime and maritime power can be evaluated simultaneously, with an approach that does not exclude any maritime-related elements, including all sub-elements in the definition of a sustainable maritimization.
By using the data obtained from the open literature, the first results of our studies with inferential statistical methods applied to the 3-Layer Holistic Maritime Model (3-Layer HMM) showed that countries that have gained the ability to enrich, expand and deepen their security areas, and also develop their innovative-free thinking. These are the nations that have created their maritime power and sustainable maritimization process with the components mentioned above.
Suffix; although developments in transportation and in communication technology determine the development of globalization, for continuous maritimization, which is the dominant dynamic of modernization and globalization, should be handled holistically. For the development of maritime and for sustainable maritimization this must be the main goal of our nation. For this -as a suggestion- it is necessary to establish an integrative public authority as "Ministry of Maritimization" supported by artificial intelligence (AI) technique, e.g. such as Digital Management Presidency of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
Prof. Dr. Nurhan Kahyaoğlu
References
- Çetin, O., Irak, D. M., Kahyaoğlu, N., ‘A comprehensive model for a sustainable maritimization: 3-Layer Holistic Maritimization Model’, Maritime Policy & Management, Volume 47, 2020 –issue 8.
- Kahyaoğlu, N.,’Bütüncül Deniz ve Denizcilik gücü için çözüm önerileri’, https://www.marinedealnews.com/butuncul-deniz-ve-denizcilik-gucu-icin-cozum-onerileri/
- Kahyaoğlu, N.,’To seize the future of Maritime industry; The 3-layer holistic maritimization model’, Neta Sea 2016.
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