Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This is the third, revised and fully updated, edition of Geoffrey Till's Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century .

The rise of the Chinese and other Asian navies, worsening quarrels over maritime jurisdiction and the United States¿ maritime pivot towards the Asia-Pacific region reminds us that 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, and 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. While these new tasks are developing fast, traditional ones still predominate. Deterrence remains the first duty of today¿s navies, backed up by the need to ¿fight and win¿ if necessary. How navies and their states balance these two imperatives will tell us a great deal about our future in this increasingly maritime century. This book investigates the consequences of all this for the developing nature, composition and functions of all the world's significant navies, and provides a guide for anyone interested in the changing and crucial role of seapower in the 21st century.

Seapower is essential reading for all students of naval power, maritime security and naval history, and highly recommended for students of strategic studies, international security and International Relations.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• List of illustrations (p. x)
• List of abbreviations (p. xii)
• Preface to the third edition (p. xv)
• 1 In search of seapower (p. 1)
• 1.1 Introduction: the maritime case (p. 1)
• 1.2 Explaining success: the four attributes of the sea (p. 5)
• 1.3 Defining seapower (p. 23)
• 2 Seapower in a globalising world: two competing tendencies (p. 27)
• 2.1 Introduction: seapower and globalisation (p. 27)
• 2.2 The modern navy (p. 32)
• 2.3 The post-modern navy (p. 35)
• 2.4 Enablers and choices (p. 41)
• 2.5 Modern/post-modern compromises (p. 42)
• 3 Who said what and why it matters (p. 45)
• 3.1 The value of theory in maritime operations (p. 45)
• 3.2 On types of theory (p. 46)
• 3.3 The early development of theory (p. 52)
• 3.4 Mahan and the bluewater tendency (p. 56)
• 3.5 Corbett and the maritime tradition (p. 61)
• 3.6 Alternative visions in maritime strategy (p. 73)
• 3.7 Operational art and modern maritime theory (p. 79)
• 3.8 Present and future challenges (p. 84)
• 4 The constituents of seapower (p. 87)
• 4.1 Introduction (p. 87)
• 4.2 Identifying the constituents of seapower (p. 88)
• 4.3 Maritime people, society and government (p. 88)
• 4.4 Maritime geography (p. 92)
• 4.5 Resources (p. 99)
• 4.6 A maritime economy (p. 103)
• 4.7 Seapower by other means (p. 109)
• 4.8 Understanding (p. 114)
• 5 Navies and technology (p. 116)
• 5.1 Introduction (p. 116)
• 5.2 Classifying navies (p. 116)
• 5.3 Estimating relative effectiveness (p. 119)
• 5.4 Navies and technology: an introduction (p. 122)
• 5.5 Platforms (p. 122)
• 5.6 Systems, weapons and sensors (p. 128)
• 5.7 An information revolution? (p. 130)
• 5.8 The challenge of transformational technology (p. 135)
• 5.9 A strategy for innovation (p. 136)
• 5.10 Navies and technology: summary and conclusions (p. 143)
• 6 Command of the sea and sea control (p. 144)
• 6.1 Evolution of a traditional concept (p. 144)
• 6.2 Limits and qualifications (p. 145)
• 6.3 Pursuing command in moderation (p. 149)
• 6.4 Command of the sea yields to sea control (p. 150)
• 6.5 Sea denial (p. 152)
• 6.6 Contemporary angles (p. 154)
• 7 Securing command of the sea (p. 157)
• 7.1 Securing command of the sea: the operational approach (p. 157)
• 7.2 Decisive battle (p. 158)
• 7.3 Forms and styles of decisive battle (p. 162)
• 7.4 How to achieve a decisive victory (p. 165)
• 7.5 Contemporary forms and concepts of battle (p. 170)
• 7.6 Operational alternatives to battle (p. 172)
• 7.7 The fleet-in-being approach (p. 173)
• 7.8 The fleet blockade (p. 178)
• 8 Exploiting command of the sea: maritime power projection (p. 184)
• 8.1 Maritime power projection: definitions (p. 184)
• 8.2 Maritime power projection: aims (p. 186)
• 8.3 Amphibious operations (p. 189)
• 8.4 Operational manoeuvre from the sea (p. 196)
• 8.5 Sea-based strategic missile attack of the shore (p. 201)
• 8.6 Defence against maritime power projection (p. 203)
• 9 Exploiting command of the sea: control of maritime communications (p. 210)
• 9.1 The attack of maritime communications (p. 210)
• 9.2 The defence of maritime communications (p. 215)
• 9.3 Contemporary relevance? (p. 219)
• 10 Naval diplomacy (p. 221)
• 10.1 Coverage of naval diplomacy in the literature: who said what? (p. 221)
• 10.2 The diplomatic value of naval power (p. 223)
• 10.3 The range and extent of naval diplomacy (p. 225)
• 10.4 Naval presence (p. 226)
• 10.5 Naval picture building (p. 231)
• 10.6 Naval coercion (p. 233)
• 10.7 Collaborative naval diplomacy and coalition building (p. 242)
• 10.8 Naval diplomacy: implications for strategy makers (p. 247)
• 11 Expeditionary operations (p. 252)
• 11.1 Origins and background (p. 252)
• 11.2 Definitions (p. 253)
• 11.3 Expeditionary operations: the political dimension (p. 255)
• 11.4 Expeditionary operations: the urban dimension (p. 257)
• 11.5 Expeditionary operations: the maritime dimension (p. 258)
• 11.6 Staging a sea-based expedition: the maritime requirements (p. 262)
• 11.7 Conclusion (p. 279)
• 11.8 HADR: a humanitarian postscript (p. 280)
• 12 Maintaining good order at sea: maritime security at home and away (p. 282)
• 12.1 Introduction: a renaming of parts? (p. 282)
• 12.2 Good order at sea and maritime security (p. 283)
• 12.3 Navies and coastguards in defence of the sea as a stock resource (p. 284)
• 12.4 Navies and coastguards in defence of the sea as a means of transportation -a flow resource (p. 289)
• 12.5 Navies and coastguards in the defence of the sea as an environment (p. 300)
• 12.6 Navies and coastguards, and the defence of the sea as an area of sovereignty and dominion (p. 303)
• 12.7 Good order at sea: general requirements (p. 304)
• 12.8 Good order at sea: implications for navies (p. 316)
• 13 The South China Sea: a case study (p. 318)
• 13.1 The South China Sea as a stock resource (p. 319)
• 13.2 The South China Sea as a flow resource (p. 320)
• 13.3 The South China Sea as a physical environment (p. 321)
• 13.4 The South China Sea: the need for good order (p. 322)
• 13.5 The South China Sea as an area of sovereignty (p. 323)
• 13.6 The South China Sea as a medium for dominion (p. 328)
• 13.7 So what? (p. 333)
• 14 Conclusions? (p. 338)
• 14.1 Competitive and collaborative trends in naval development are all-important but impossible to predict (p. 338)
• 14.2 The relative importance of the sea and seapower will tend to rise in the twenty-first century (p. 339)
• 14.3 Shifting attitudes to the global commons (p. 340)
• 14.4 Debating the littorals (p. 346)
• 14.5 The range and diversity of naval tasks are likely to increase (p. 347)
• 14.6 There are no easy answers (p. 348)
• Notes (p. 350)
• Bibliography (p. 377)
• Index (p. 396)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Geoffrey Till is a recognised authority on maritime strategy past and present. Formerly Dean of Academic Studies at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College, he is currently Professor Emeritus of Maritime Studies in the Defence Studies Department and Director of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy, King's College London.nbsp;He is author of a number of books including Air Power and the Royal Navy, Maritime Strategy and the Nuclear Age and, most recently,nbsp;Naval Development in the Asia-Pacific (also published by Routledge).