Maritime Security and Great Power Competition: Maintaining the US-Led International Order

Abstract

Maritime security operations sustain and enforce the rule of law and good order at sea. Yet in an era of great power competition (GPC), do those activities support national strategy? This paper offers a structure for answering that question, placing maritime security in the context of GPC by describing competition as a function of control for the international system. The framework introduced in this paper demonstrates that maritime security is an important component of maintaining a system that benefits US security and prosperity. The framework also shows that there are two roles for maritime security in GPCavoiding corrosion of the US-led system by great powers and avoiding corrosion caused by lesser powers. These two approaches have different implications for Navy deployment, procurement, and employment policy. Consequently, although our analysis suggests that maritime security is integral to GPC, its roles can vary, pulling resources in divergent directions according to policy priorities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1101486

Entities

People

  • Joshua Tallis

Organizations

  • Center for Naval Analyses

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • Humanitarian Assistance
  • Hybrid Warfare
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Military Organizations
  • National Security
  • Navy
  • Second World War
  • Terrorism
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime Security/Maritime Homeland Security
  • Strategic Security Studies