This book is a state-of-the-art report on ocean law and politics today, written by 40 contributors from six continents. At this important early stage of implementation of the Law of the Sea Convention, this book assesses where we have been going in the past decade and charts the way ahead. Implementation of the Convention - from the perspective of interaction of politics and law - is the unifying theme of the book. Under this, three basic aspects have emerged as crucial during the 1990s: (1) evolution of new regimes; (2) institutionalisation; and (3) new patterns of participation. These are explored systematically in sections on: the Convention, its implementing agreements and related international institutions (Parts I and II); interaction of law of the sea with other regimes, including those for polar regions (Parts III and IV); the various levels (international, national and transnational) and actors involved in the implementation of the Convention (Part V); and a number of salient issues in implementation today (Part VI).