Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century

by Till, Geoffrey

• ISBN13: 9780714684369
• ISBN10: 0714684368
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-02-19
• Publisher: Frank Cass

Summary

The sea has always been central to human development as a source of resources, and as a means of transportation, information-exchange and strategic dominion. It has provided the basis for mankind's prosperity and security. This is even more true in the early 21st century, with the emergence of an increasingly globalized world trading system. Navies have always provided a way of policing, and sometimes exploiting, the system. In contemporary conditions, navies, and other forms of maritime power, are having to adapt, in order to exert the maximum power ashore in the company of others and to expand the range of their interests, activities and responsibilities. Their traditional tasks still apply but new ones are developing fast. Written by a recognized authority on maritime strategy past and present, this timely and up-to-date book investigates the consequences of this for the developing nature, composition and functions of all the world's significant navies, and provides a guide for everyone interested in the changing and crucial role of seapower in the 21st century.

Author Biography

Geoffrey Till is Dean of Academic Studies at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College and leads the Defence Studies Department, which is a part of the War Studies Group of King's College, London.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	ix
Preface	xi
Abbreviations	xiv
1 The Sea and Seapower	1	(24)
1.1 International Relations: Cooperation and Conflict	1	(1)
1.2 Defining Seapower	2	(4)
1.3 The Sea: Four Historic Attributes	6	(1)
1.4 The Sea as a Resource	7	(1)
1.5 The Sea as a Medium of Transportation and Exchange	8	(4)
1.6 The Sea as a Medium for Information and the Spread of Ideas	12	(3)
1.7 The Sea as a Medium for Dominion	15	(3)
1.8 Explaining the Secret of Maritime Success	18	(5)
1.9 Seapower: Qualifications and Limitations	23	(2)
2 Who Said What and Why it Matters	25	(51)
2.1 The Value of Theory in Maritime Operations	25	(2)
2.2 On Types of Theory	27	(8)
2.3 The Early Development of Theory	35	(4)
2.4 Mahan and the Blue-water Tendency	39	(7)
2.5 Corbett and the Maritime Tradition	46	(13)
2.6 Alternative Visions in Maritime Strategy	59	(7)
2.7 Operational Art and Modern Maritime Theory	66	(8)
2.8 Future Challenges	74	(2)
3 The Constituents of Seapower	76	(37)
3.1 Introduction	76	(1)
3.2 Identifying the Constituents of Seapower	77	(1)
3.3 Population, Society and Government	77	(6)
3.4 Maritime Geography	83	(8)
3.5 Resources	91	(5)
3.6 A Maritime Economy	96	(7)
3.7 Seapower by Other Means	103	(8)
3.8 Doctrine	111	(2)
4 Navies and Technology	113	(35)
4.1 Introduction	113	(1)
4.2 Classifying Navies	113	(3)
4.3 Estimating Relative Effectiveness	116	(4)
4.4 Navies and Technology: An Introduction	120	(1)
4.5 Platforms	121	(7)
4.6 Systems, Weapons and Sensors	128	(2)
4.7 An Information Revolution?	130	(6)
4.8 The Challenge of Transformational Technology	136	(2)
4.9 A Strategy for Innovation	138	(8)
4.10 Navies and Technology: Summary and Conclusions	146	(2)
5 Command of the Sea	148	(14)
5.1 Evolution of a Traditional Concept	148	(1)
5.2 Limits and Qualifications	149	(5)
5.3 Pursuing Command in Moderation	154	(1)
5.4 Command of the Sea Yields to Sea Control	155	(2)
5.5 Sea Denial	157	(2)
5.6 Contemporary Angles	159	(3)
6 Securing Command of the Sea	162	(31)
6.1 Securing Command of the Sea: The Operational Approach	162	(1)
6.2 Decisive Battle	163	(6)
6.3 Forms and Styles of Decisive Battle	169	(4)
6.4 How to Achieve a Decisive Victory	173	(4)
6.5 Modern Forms and Concepts of Battle	177	(3)
6.6 Operational Alternatives to Battle	180	(1)
6.7 The Fleet-in-Being Approach	180	(6)
6.8 The Fleet Blockade	186	(7)
7 Exploiting Command of the Sea	193	(42)
7.1 Maritime Power Projection: Definitions	193	(2)
7.2 Maritime Power Projection: Aims	195	(4)
7.3 Amphibious Operations	199	(9)
7.4 Operational Manoeuvre from the Sea	208	(6)
7.5 Sea-Based Strategic Missile Attack of the Shore	214	(2)
7.6 Defence Against Maritime Power Projection	216	(7)
7.7 The Attack on Maritime Communications	223	(6)
7.8 The Defence of Maritime Communications	229	(6)
8 Expeditionary Operations	235	(36)
8.1 Origins and Background	235	(1)
8.2 Definitions	236	(2)
8.3 The Political Dimension	238	(3)
8.4 The Urban Dimension	241	(1)
8.5 General Demands on the Military	242	(3)
8.6 The Maritime Dimension	245	(5)
8.7 Staging a Sea-Based Expedition: The Maritime Requirements	250	(17)
8.8 Conclusions	267	(2)
8.9 A Humanitarian Postscript	269	(2)
9 Naval Diplomacy	271	(39)
9.1 Coverage of Naval Diplomacy in the Literature: Who Said What?	271	(2)
9.2 The Diplomatic Value of Naval Power	273	(3)
9.3 The Range and Extent of Naval Diplomacy	276	(1)
9.4 Naval Presence	277	(7)
9.5 Naval Picture-Building	284	(1)
9.6 Naval Coercion	285	(13)
9.7 Coalition-Building	298	(5)
9.8 Naval Diplomacy: Implications for Strategy-Makers	303	(7)
10 Good Order at Sea	310	(41)
10.1 Introduction: Order and Disorder	310	(1)
10.2 The Sea as a Resource	311	(3)
10.3 The Sea as a Means of Transportation	314	(11)
10.4 The Sea as a Means of Gaining and Exchanging Information	325	(2)
10.5 The Sea as an Area of Dominion	327	(2)
10.6 The Sea as an Environment	329	(4)
10.7 The Need for Good Order at Sea	333	(1)
10.8 Increasing Maritime Awareness	334	(3)
10.9 Developing Maritime Policy	337	(1)
10.10 Developing Integrated Maritime Governance	338	(4)
10.11 Policy Implementation: The Navy-Coastguard Spectrum	342	(7)
10.12 Implications for Navies	349	(2)
11 Future Seapower	351	(28)
11.1 Introduction	351	(1)
11.2 The Sea as a Resource	351	(1)
11.3 The Sea as a Medium for Transportation and Exchange	352	(1)
11.4 The Sea as a Medium of Information and the Spread of Ideas	353	(1)
11.5 The Result: A Global Maritime System	353	(1)
11.6 A System Under Threat	354	(1)
11.7 The Sea, Dominion and Sovereignty	355	(2)
11.8 Defending the Maritime System	357	(4)
11.9 A Maritime Consortium as the Basis for Action	361	(6)
11.10 The Future of Seapower	367	(9)
11.11 Naval Force Development in the Twenty-First Century	376	(3)
Notes	379	(18)
Bibliography	397	(15)
Index	412