Globalization and Maritime Power

This is a daunting volume at first sight. It is big and heavy--but it is also a gem. Derived from a major 1998 study of globalization and national security (and dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and the subsequent campaign in Afghanistan) by the National Defense University in Washington, Globalization and Maritime Power is an outstanding collection of essays by 30 experts in the field of naval and maritime affairs. Drawing upon such analysts as Norman Friedman, Daniel Coulter, Scott Truver and James Tritten, the editor, [Sam J. Tangredi], has skilfully compiled a veritable "bible" on the interplay between two global phenomenon, naval power (in this instance, primarily US naval power) and the new world economy. Globalization is an imprecise and frequently emotive shorthand term for a global economy that is both swifter and deeper that its predecessors. Naval power is, short of intercontinental missiles, the ultimate global weapon system; flexible, versatile and supremely mobile. American hunter-killer submarines roam the oceans of the world. They are hidden and ubiquitous. Similarly, US aircraft carriers use impressive visibility to signal resolve in every corner of the globe. But what is the nexus between these two phenomena?