Spain and the sea. The decline of an ideology, crisis in the maritime sector and the challenges of globalization

Modern Spanish marine policy originates from the last part of the 19th Century. “Navalist Ideology” was the theoretical platform which led to the structuring of the modern maritime sector in a way that has remained in force to the present day. Any future Spanish marine policy should be firmly placed on strong, new foundations, and create a new vision of the oceans focussed on new fields of interest, including marine science and technology, as well as the environment, as a means of diverting the aim of public policy from the traditional maritime sector.