News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author compares the Dardanelles campaign of 1915-1916 and the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz with respect to the use of force. A 5 minute read.

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. 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.

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. As Operation EPIC FURY ebbs and flows, may I propose a new principle of war? Always follow the money.

Ed. The author provides an update on the geostrategic energy aspect of the Ukraine War, with the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East in mind. A 5 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in November 2013 [101/4, p. 325], the author’s concluding comments from his series [101/1, p. 10], [101/2, p. 132], [101/3, p. 230], on long-term budget trends during the Great Depression and Great Recession eras provides a framework for where the RN stands today. A 20 minute read.

Ed. When the 1980s Iran-Iraq War bled into the maritime sphere, the US Navy raced to halt depredations to oil shipments; the mine-warfare factor weighed heavily in the operation and offers lessons for today. Originally published in the USNI’s Proceedings, June 2025. A 15 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a timely edited volume on the naval history of the Middle East, providing a wide-ranging set of chapters and case studies.