Naval Warfare: The Strategic Influence of Sea Power

The historical significance of sea power has been long since established. In 1890, naval expert Alfred Thayer Mahan authored a well-regarded and timeless book, "The Influence of Sea Power upon History" which outlined the influential history and perpetual importance of naval warfare. The concepts in Mahan's book have largely become a foundation for how experts currently regard naval strategy. Building off of these concepts, today's lecture will explain the impact of naval thought on the current geo-political system and the modern implications of naval supremacy.
Dr. Mackubin Thomas Owens is Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor at The Institute of World Politics. He is a Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) in Philadelphia, and editor of Orbis, FPRI's quarterly journal. He recently retired as Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. At the War College he specialized in the planning of US strategy and forces, especially naval and power projection forces; the political economy of national security; national security organization; strategic geography; and American civil-military relations. From 1990 to 1997, Dr. Owens was Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly defense journal Strategic Review and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Boston University.
Before joining the faculty of the War College, Dr. Owens served as National Security Adviser to Senator Bob Kasten, Republican of Wisconsin, and Director of Legislative Affairs for the Nuclear Weapons Programs of the Department of Energy during the Reagan Administration. Dr. Owens is also a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, where as an infantry platoon and company commander in 1968-1969, he was wounded twice and awarded the Silver Star medal. He retired as a Colonel in 1994.
Dr. Owens earned his Ph.D. in Politics from the University of Dallas, a Master of Arts in Economics from Oklahoma University, and his BA from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He has taught at the University of Rhode Island, the University of Dallas, Catholic University, Ashland University of Ohio, and the Marine Corps' School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW).

[@maxhistoriawiekow8294]

thanks

[@kevinbyrne4538]

32:53 -- The Chinese economy is dependent on foreign oil, so they want to protect the sea lanes to the Middle East. They are searching the world for sources of oil, and are pushing into the southern China Sea, where Vietnam has already found oil in undersea deposits.

[@monk786]

Exactly, Chinese economy is dependent on their oil tanker sail thru the narrow Malacca strait where US has many naval bases there, and the US destroyers could blockade the Chinese tankers sail thru like they blockade the Japanese tankers sail thru the Malacca strait in WW2. This forced the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor.

[@rmwtsou]

With the advent of ASBMs, Mahan will soon be swept into the dustbin of history. I am for anything that makes war obsolete.

[@renardgrise]

ROFLOL, Right... you keep thinking that. War is an integral part of human nature, and therefore it will never be "obsolete" as long as there are humans to conduct it.

[@therealpotsmoan593]

hitler's tanks made french strategy obsolete

[@neeyal]

"Arctic melting is reversing"? Yikes. This view honestly indicts his perspective in general.

[@1962brennan]

The soviets were land locked ? Dont get me wrong I dont mourn their passing but they had over a 1000 ship navy and one look at the map would have sown that while we had a batter navy there was no way they were land locked

[@kevinbyrne4538]

Playing Devil's Advocate, where did the Soviet Union transport and sustain, by sea, armies that were operating abroad? The U.S. could send and support armies in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, ...

[@alswann2702]

Ice is land and winter is a mother in mother Russia.

[@martinjohnson5498]

Geography limits their access to the World Ocean because of chokepoints , in some cases layers of them.

[@aquabone8118]

This topic is pretty much dead with regard to the invention of Hypersonic missile technology.

[@oceanvictory5778]

Jezus, boring men

[@PaulvonOberstein]

Your brain is just tiny. It's okay, don't feel too bad.