Globalization and Maritime Power edited by Sam J. Tangredi. National Defense University Press (http://www.ndu.edu/inss/press/nduphp.html), Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, DC 20319, 2002, 613 pages, $49.00. http://www.ndu.edu/inss/books/Books_2002/Globalization_and_ Maritime_Power_Dec_02/01_toc.htm.
This excellent anthology continues the intellectual exploration started in the National Defense University study The Global Century: Globalization and National Security. It focuses on the role of maritime power within the context of the developing economic and social phenomenon known as globalization, which has become the "dominant element of the current security environment" (p. xxv). Accepting the idea that this process commenced at the turn of the last century and has gone through several iterations to reach its current form, the authors of the various papers appear to agree that contemporary globalization "is occurring at a degree unequalled to similar trends in the past" (p. 2).
In the first chapter, Tangredi uses Capt Alfred Thayer Mahan’s definition of sea power to explain and expand on the vitally important role of the oceans "as a fluid medium that could not be normally inhabited as a primary means for communication and commerce" (p. 2), which, as Tangredi notes, is also an apt description of the Internet. Within this context, the remaining 29 essays explore how globalization and the end of the Cold War are recasting relationships between nations, and navies; bringing economic, political, and social benefits while facilitating operations for both terrorists and criminals; and establishing strategies and architectures for maintaining order in what appears to be an increasingly anarchic world. Specifically, they carefully examine changes in maritime strategy, international-security coalitions, the globalization of naval operations, and proposals for future naval force structure.
The research presented here is useful to Air Force officers. First, it identifies the linkage between globalization as the developing national-security environment and the ways in which military (specifically naval) power brings about this process while attempting to mitigate those forces that threaten it. Second, it provides some exposition of how the Navy perceives its role in the future security environment. It identifies the Navy and Marine Corps team as the premier "door kicker," providing access to hostile areas for Army and Air Force combat operations. For any member of the defense community involved in joint planning and operations, this work provides several viewpoints on how the Navy expects to operate.
However, readers would have welcomed further elucidation in two areas. One, although the study provides some discussion of exploring possible architectures for future naval expeditionary forces and of working within the proposed standing joint task force, it offers little explanation—even at a theoretical level—of how the Navy will integrate fully with the other services when it conducts joint operations. This becomes increasingly important as the US military moves towards a capabilities-based force that integrates the different services’ various functions. Two, inclusion of an in-depth exploration of the potential use of space—a substantive factor both in globalization and the conduct of future military operations—would have added depth to the discussion of the capabilities of potential naval architectures. Notwithstanding these omissions, Globalization and Maritime Power is an outstanding contribution to the current debate on the future role of the United States and its armed services.
LCDR Paul Younes, USN
Providence, Rhode Island
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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