Out of the Blue: The Republic of Seychelles and the Evolving Financial-Institutional Architecture around Ocean Spaces

Among the so-called Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Republic of the
Seychelles has become a crucial site for innovations in ocean management and its
financing under the banner of the 'blue economy'. This research explores the multiple
dynamics generated by the introduction of state-of-the-art forms of debt financing in the
Seychelles today, marketed as a new way to resource environmental governance within
the country's Exclusive Economic Zone. Specifically, I will analyse a) in what ways novel
forms of green-blue finance intersect with changing sovereign governmental structures;
b) the unfolding daily realities of these new architectures for affected sectors; and c)
these experiments' significance within a broader drive to produce legal architectures for
valuing marine activities: environmentally, politically, and financially. I will do so through
qualitative ethnographic and interview-based research: first, with organisations leading
discussion, drafting, and implementation of related policies in the Seychelles and
internationally; and second, with representatives of selected sectors (fishing, shipping,
and tourism) to assess these policies' day-to-day outcomes. Additionally, I will perform
textual analyses of relevant national and international documents, drawing on Science
and Technology Studies and economic sociology approaches to unpack these
experiments' legal, political, and financial articulations. The research will provide a novel,
grounded lens into the so-called 'financialisation of the oceans', and how its constitutive
developmental and financial practices are transforming ocean governance. Moreover,
the research's 'blue' focus will provide new insights for a significant research agenda
now developing on environmental governance and its new forms of financialisation.