Around 90% of international trade (in terms of tonnage) is carried out by sea, and these flows use the many natural or man-made straits (maritime and transoceanic canals). As both transverse and longitudinal passageways, straits play a fundamental role in maritime relations. This book takes a multidisciplinary and international approach to the Straits: legal, geographical, historical, environmental, economic and geopolitical. It examines their functions and the issues associated with them, both now and in the past, using specific examples: Artics, Dover, Gibraltar, Hormuz, Kerch, Malacca, Messina, Oresund, etc.
Part 1 Straits: Centuries of Confrontation on the International Stage
