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. This is even more true in the early 21st century, with the emergence of an increasingly globalized world trading system. 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, 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. Written by a recognized authority on maritime strategy past and present, this timely and up-to-date book investigates the consequences of this for the developing nature, composition and functions of all the world's significant navies, and provides a guide for everyone interested in the changing and crucial role of seapower in the 21st century.
This wide ranging book will be essential reading for all serious students and practitioners of maritime strategy and naval power, and will be of great interest to well-informed general readers.
Author Biography
Geoffrey Till is Dean of Academic Studies at the Joint Services Command and Staff College and is Head of the Defence Studies Department, which is a part of the War Studies Group of King's College, London. He is general series editor of the Frank Cass series on Naval Policy and History. In addition to many articles and chapters on various aspects of defence, he is the author of a number of books including, Air Power and the Royal Navy (1979), Maritime Strategy and the Nuclear Age (2nd edn 1984). More recently he has edited Coastal Forces (1994), Sea Power: Theory and Practice (1994) and Seapower at the Millennium (2001). His works have been translated into eight languages, and he regularly lectures at staff colleges and conferences around the world.
