11/17/2023 0 Comments Cpt. alfred thayer mahan![]() Despite this fact, nearly every discussion of their work, and in particular the surface level comparisons of the two men and their strategic ideas, focus entirely on their single most famous book. Width – One Book or Manyīoth Alfred Thayer Mahan and Julian Corbett were hard working and prolific authors. ![]() Theory is valuable as an element of study that informs analysis, but it cannot be the only element, and we must recognize the unique nature of every historical event. For strategic scholars and historians the same rule of thumb applies. As Corbett himself wrote, it’s only useful to naval professionals if they understand how to adapt that theory, to modify it, to think about it, within their modern or contemporary context. This does not help us comprehend how they themselves meant their ideas to be applied. In learning only about theory, only about selective excerpts of what these strategists said about sea power and strategy but ignoring who they were and where their ideas came from, we are only presented with a theoretical foundation. For historians engaged in strategic studies this presents a problem. Yet few of them appear to spend much time teaching about who they were. ![]() This more historically informed approach demonstrates that the most important part of a comparison between the two men and their writing is how, despite the differences in their background and methods, they largely agree on the key elements of naval strategy.Īlmost all the staff colleges and war colleges in the modern world, including those in the People’s Republic of China for more than a decade, teach about what Mahan and Corbett wrote. Looking at them and their writings through these historical lenses rather than via a focus on theory offers a different perspective. By examining the two men in width across their published work, in depth through their biographies, and in context by acknowledging the time and audiences which they wrote for, we can help explain the differences between the two men and understand the significance of the fact that in general they came to the same or similar conclusions. However, this is a historically and conceptually flawed way to approach them and their naval thinking. But the result of this is a general understanding that the two strategists disagreed and sets up the need to choose between them. This caricature is likely offered because highlighting differences appears an easier pedagogy than explaining similarities. In our contemporary lessons on naval strategy and maritime affairs, the ideas of Mahan and Corbett are often offered as separate “Schools of Thought,” encouraging students to identify as either “Mahanian” or “Corbettian” and to see the two men and their ideas in opposition to one another. Their writings and theories are often taught at war colleges and staff colleges, and they lie at the foundation of most naval strategic writing and teaching even one hundred years after their deaths. The US has already started to rebuild the Navy with steel changing the outer structure of ships.Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sir Julian Corbett are the two most well-known naval strategists and naval educators. Translation? Foreign markets and strong Navy could be the key to helping us out of depressions. The book is published when the US is experience recurring crises and financial depressions (Panic of 1893). This issue LINKS nationalistic feelings with economic issues. This becomes a source of nationalistic pride – its is right and proper to have a strong Navy!! Navy power is at the center of National success. This books impacts intellectuals and elites concerned about expansion and economic development Read by the English, Germans, and Japanese, as well as by his fellow Americans, Mahan helped stimulate the naval race among the great powers that gained momentum around the turn of the century. Nice summary of Mahan's Influence (7 minutes) He determined the US needed to look beyond its borders and have a strong Navy to protect its economic interests. ![]() ![]() Mahan analyzed the role a Navy played in history. (One of the most influential public policy books ever published) Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan’s book of 1890, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 , argued that control of the sea was the key to world dominance. The development of a new steel navy also focused attention overseas. ![]()
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