The Strait of Hormuz crisis demonstrated how disruption of a single maritime chokepoint can destabilize global energy markets, interrupt international supply chains, increase transportation costs, and reshape regional and global politics. As one of the world's most critical energy corridors, the crisis exposed the extent to which the contemporary international system depends on the uninterrupted flow of maritime commerce. More importantly, it raised a broader geopolitical question: What regional and global consequences would arise if other strategic waterways were blocked by interstate conflict, military confrontation, hybrid warfare, terrorism, or geopolitical coercion?
Strategic waterways have long formed the backbone of international trade, energy transportation, naval mobility, and geopolitical influence. In an era marked by renewed great-power competition, maritime disputes, economic interdependence, and technological transformation, these waterways have become more than geographical passages; they are strategic assets capable of shaping the international balance of power. Disruptions to critical maritime chokepoints can trigger cascading effects across global energy markets, manufacturing networks, food security, financial systems, digital infrastructure, and military operations, extending far beyond the regions where they occur.
This panel examines the geopolitical implications of actual and potential disruptions across the world's major strategic waterways through comparative, interdisciplinary, and scenario-based approaches. It invites contributions exploring maritime chokepoints in relation to international security, global trade, energy flows, maritime logistics, geoeconomics, naval strategy, and evolving great-power competition. Papers adopting theoretical, empirical, historical, legal, technological, or policy-oriented perspectives are especially welcome.
The panel welcomes research on the Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, Bab el-Mandeb, Suez Canal, Panama Canal, Taiwan Strait, Bosporus, Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, Singapore Strait, Lombok Strait, Sunda Strait, the Turkish Straits System, and emerging Arctic sea routes. Contributors are encouraged to assess the geopolitical, economic, military, technological, legal, environmental, and humanitarian consequences of blockade scenarios, evaluate regional and global vulnerabilities, and propose strategies through which states, international organizations, and regional institutions can strengthen maritime resilience, protect freedom of navigation, secure global supply chains, and enhance international cooperation in an increasingly contested maritime environment.
