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Ed. In the Sixteenth century, Portgual was a thalassocracy actively pursuing a strategy of maritime influence and control through the acquisition of strategic oceanic chokepoints – the kind Admiral Sir John Fisher would later describe as “the keys that lock up the world.” A 10 minute read.
Ed. Two letters highlighting institutional learning, whether for better in the service of ceremonial fleet reviews or for worse in terms of political-bureaucratic stagnation.
Ed. With his trademark dissident perspective, the author tackles what he describes as the long-term decline of European and British maritime power, and compares the present situation in the Middle East with the financial consequences of the outbreak of war in 1914. A 15 minute read.
Volume 114, Spring 2026, Number 2
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BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a book providing a detailed case study of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, exploring the rationale for the raid and its execution.
Ed. The author contemplates historical epistemology, with due regard to the Great Peloponnesian War and the nature of strategy. A 15 minute read.
Ed. With John Mearsheimer’s ultrarealism firmly in mind, the author addresses the logic of abiding by, and violating, the international law of war. A 15 minute read.
Ed. The author examines the state-of-the-art with regard to Polar icebreaker investment and development, and considers the relative cost for future RN procurement in increasingly competitive theatres. A 30 minute read.
Ed. If the recent conflict in the Middle East has confirmed anything, it is that sea power remains essential to our nation’s prosperity. Much has been written about Operation EPIC FURY, the rapidly evolving threats we face and our ability to counter them, and how advances in drones, uncrewed and autonomous systems have forever changed the way we fight. But some things remain constant, as evidenced by Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits.