Publication:RAN Reading List March 2006/Modern Maritime Strategy
In a world that seems increasingly complex and less predictable, the use of the sea is evolving from that which pertained during the period of classical maritime strategy. The Law of the Sea Convention has limited the areas of High Seas and brought much of the oceans under varying levels of State control. At the same time the rate of technological change has increased, and the capabilities of navies are much greater than could have been imagined in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Following on from the greats such as Mahan, Corbett and Richmond are modern authors who have brought our understanding of maritime strategy into the late 20th century.
Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century
by Geoffrey Till published by Frank Cass, London, 2004
Seapower: A Guide for the Twenty-First Century is essential reading for all serious practitioners of maritime strategy and naval power. 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. If anything, this is even more true in the early 21st century, with the emergence of an increasingly globalised world trading system and a developing awareness of the fundamental importance of the sea as a physical environment. 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, often fundamentally, 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. This book provides an excellent overview of contemporary issues and thought.
Seapower: Theory and Practice
edited by Geoffrey Till published by Frank Crass, Illford, Essex, 1994
Seapower: Theory and Practice is a collection of articles by some of leading naval historians and maritime theorists. The articles centre around the relationship between land and sea power and on the relationship between theory and practise. Of particular note is the article on the use of seapower by smaller coastal states, a subject which is particularly relevant to the Australian Navy in a regional context.
by Ken Booth published by Croom Helm, London, 1977
Navies and Foreign Policy is a study of navies as instruments of foreign policy. It is based around the now widely accepted theory that navies perform three types of role; military, constabulary and diplomatic. This division of naval roles is a good basis for understanding the many ways warships function as instruments of government policy. It also emphasises the importance of many non or sub military roles. An understanding of these types of roles is important in an era when limited conflicts and constabulary and diplomatic functions seem to be coming to the fore. Navies and Foreign Policy is well written and is a standard text for any discussion of seapower.
Gunboat Diplomacy: 1919-1991
by James Cable published by Macmillan, London, 1994
Warships have often been used to exercise their power during times of peace. Though this can take many forms, the thinly veiled use or threatened use of force is often referred to as gunboat diplomacy. It is a subject of considerable importance to any navy, because it is more likely that naval forces will be involved at short notice in a form of gunboat diplomacy than in a full-scale war. The often cited advantages of navies as instruments of government policy are brought to the fore in these types of operation. Gunboat Diplomacy discusses the use of naval force in peace during the 20th century, and is essential reading for those with an interest in the naval profession. It lists in a most useful appendix almost every instance of 'gunboat diplomacy' from the end of WWI until 1991.
Diplomacy at Sea
by James Cable published by Macmillan, London, 1985
This book is a collection of James Cable's numerous writings on maritime strategy and naval affairs in the period 1972 to 1983. While he has an understandably British and European bias in his views and choice of topics, there is much useful material. According to Cable coercive diplomacy is the primary focus of the book; the initial discourse on the nature of coercion, implicit and explicit, leaves this as a broad topic. The case made for the ubiquity of force in international relations is certainly convincing. Given the unique role of warships as representatives of their countries an understanding of this part of diplomacy is important.
by William A. Owens published by Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1995
Admiral Owens was the Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff when High Seas was published. His basic idea is that military forces in general, and US naval forces in particular, are in a period of stagnation, failing to respond to the sweeping changes which are manifesting themselves. While not all the conclusions drawn are relevant to Australia, the broad directions of the change in United States' thinking are interesting and relevant.
The Future of Sea Power
by Eric Grove published by Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1990
Eric Grove has produced a number of books on naval history and strategy. One of the most noteworthy features of all of them is the clarity with which he writes. This is particularly noticeable in The Future of Sea Power, which starts with a discussion of the economic underpinning of classical maritime strategy. The book then covers potential developments in the various warfare disciplines and ship construction as well as looking at the implications of the law of the sea. The book finishes with an exposition of the utility of naval forces in peace and conflict. This book is still an excellent introduction to the state of naval warfare and to the reasons why navies exist in the first place.
Maritime Power and the Twenty-First Century
by Harold J. Kearsley published by Dartmouth Publishing, Aldershot, 1992
Maritime Power and the Twenty-First Century is divided into four sections covering theories of maritime utility (strategy), naval missions, the inputs into maritime power and the structure of navies. Despite the use of many economic terms, Kearsley argues that a 'bean counting' approach to understanding the maritime environment is inadequate, and that in an era when the sea is increasingly important, politicians and their advisers as well as naval professionals, need a comprehensive understanding of the sea and naval power. Fundamental to this understanding is the long term nature of much naval planning, although this is not necessarily unique to navies. This is an excellent recent statement of the importance of the marine environment and of the wide range of naval responsibilities in that environment.
Military Strategy: A General Theory of Power Control
by J.C. Wylie published by Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 1967
Military Strategy is a brief consideration of strategic thought in the broadest sense. It was written in the late 1960s, following a period of considerable uncertainty on the part of many western military strategic thinkers caused by the emergence of unfamiliar forms of conflict; guerilla and nuclear warfare. Even though Military Strategy is now almost 40 years old, the general theory of strategy put forward is still worthy of consideration, particularly in the light of new strategic uncertainties posed by computers and high-speed, high-volume communications.
by Norman Friedman published by Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2001.
Friedman lays out the roles of navies and naval strategy in the 21st century. Drawing upon historical examples, he explains how and why naval strategy differs from other kinds of military strategy and then provides a sense of the special flavour of a maritime or naval approach to national security problems. The various uses of navies are described and illustrated by extended case studies covering the last quarter-millennium. Friedman presents these observations in the context of US post-Cold War security concerns and concepts. He explains how and why the United States currently espouses a maritime strategy and argues that navies are likely to regain a dominant position due to changes, both in their own technology, and in air and ground forces. He urges countries with the appropriate geographical and economic advantages, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia, to use their inherent maritime leverage. This work combines an examination of the vital role of coalition partners, especially those with significant ground forces, with a comprehensive survey of relevant technology and the way that strategy can be reflected in the design of an evolving fleet. The author is known for his ability to explain modern technology to lay audiences, and his book is suitable for all those interested in public policy questions as well as national security professionals and students of strategy.
by Milan N. Vego published by Frank Cass, London, revised edn. 2003.
This book focuses on naval strategy and the combat employment of maritime forces in typical narrow seas, using examples taken from historical and recent conflicts to illustrate the approach to warfare in the littoral. Mentioning the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea as examples, the book points out that small navies can now challenge major maritime powers in constricted spaces.
Seapower in the Twenty-First Century
by Charles W. Koburger published by Praeger, London, 1997.
Koburger suggests that as the US Navy enters the 21st century, many of the ships, aircraft, weapons, and tactics it employed so successfully during the Cold War are no longer cost-effective or even effective. He believes future battlefields have shifted the locus of naval action from the high seas into littoral waters, demanding sustained operations in relatively narrow, shallow waters. Naval forces in the 21st century must not only meet the traditional requirements of command of the sea--ships, planes, troops, and bases--carrying out forward presence, crisis response, strategic deterrence, and sealift. They must now put these together to obtain the four key operational capabilities of littoral warfare; command, control, intelligence and surveillance, and communication; battlespace dominance; power projection; and force sustainment. The core of the new US strategic concept is power projection, and it envisions naval forces directly leading army and air force elements to influence events ashore, most probably in the Third World.
by Richard H. Shultz Jr, Robert L. Pfaltzgraff Jr., (Editors) published by Brassey's, Washington D.C, 2000.
This volume contains a series of papers by naval strategists, defence scholars, policy makers and senior military officers seeking to broaden the understanding of the new security threat in the 21st century. The twenty-one papers describe the dramatic changes that are transforming early 21st century conflict and how they will shape US naval doctrine, training, and procurement in the years ahead. The papers are presented under four main themes -symmetrical and asymmetrical warfare in the 21st century; the emerging dimensions of the 21st century security environment; new missions and strategies for naval forces; and modernisation and innovation, and societal changes. This is a thoroughly engaging book that presents stimulating papers examining issues, which are vital to the security of the United States and its allies.
