Ma Hanhai Rights Thought Research

Generally speaking, Mahan’s discourses upon sea power include four aspects.First, as the title of Mahan’s masterpiece The Influence of Sea Power upon History:1660-1783shows, his discussions of sea power are based on history (or history ofinternational relations): the history of British sea power creating her overseas empire,also the history of British sea power maintaining the balance of power in the mainlandof Europe. Second, Mahan concentrates on the three steps of building sea power, aswell as six factors which restricting the development of sea power. Third, being aninfluential political commentator, his articles pointed out the way of developingAmerican sea power. Fourth, Mahan’s political comments on the problem of Asiahave discussed the first important issue of geopolitics: the competition between landpower and sea power. This paper focuses on several important works of Mahan,accompanied by historical background, trying to give a more comprehensiveintroduction about Mahan’s thought about sea power.This article has been divided into several parts, and the primary coverage is asfollows,Introduction. This part mainly concerns about the relation between Americandiplomacy and European balance of power in19thcentury. The Spanish-AmericanWar is a milestone in American diplomacy. In this war, America has walked out thesphere which was determined by the Monroe Doctrine. And America is graduallygetting rid of the isolationism. In this war, America benefits from the Europeanbalance of power, especially from the neutral attitude of Great Britain. Americans,however, traditional show disfavor to the European balance of power. The MonroeDoctrine, in fact, means America will exclude the pattern of balance of power fromthe new world. Even so, the announcement of Monroe Doctrine is closely related tothe European balance of power and British sea power.Chapter One is titled as British sea power: balance of power and overseas empire.In the late19thcentury, when the European balance of power is at stake, Mahan plansto introduce American readers the topics of “balance of power” and “EuropeanCoordination”, which are deeply rejected by most American but is not understood bythem. Mahan’s interpretation is from the angle of view of British sea power. Thisinterpretation also is the clue throughout The Influence of Sea Power uponHistory:1660-1783. In the process of European nations resisting the imperial conquest of France, the balance of power is gradually formed. Britain is an importantforce in this process. Britain is apart form the mainland of Europe, this geography isher vantage. To maintain the balance of power in Europe has become a policy ofBritish. Through a series of wars, Britain wins the maritime hegemony, and creates aworld empire.Chapter Two is titled as the theory of sea power: geography and commerce. Thefirst Chapter of The Influence of Sea Power upon History:1660-1783is quiteattractive, because in this chapter Mahan briefly summarized the three steps indevelopment of sea power, as well as the six elements which constraint thedevelopment of sea power. From his insights, we can see that he emphasizes thatcommerce is the driving force of the development of sea power. Through back toMontesquieu in the analysis of the relationship between these elements, we can betterunderstand Mahan’s discussion about the “national character” and “character ofgovernment”—both elements should contribute to commerce.Chapter Three is titled as American sea power: shipping and geopolitical factors.Mahan is an enthusiastic supporter of the building of American sea power. He pointsout that among the three steps of the development of sea power—industry, shippingand navy, and colony or naval bases—America already has the “industry”. Therefore,in his political commentator on the building of American sea power, Mahan, on theone hand, calls for building navy which protects shipping. On the other hand, hepoints out the importance on geopolitical factors of naval bases, such as Hawaii, andthe Panama Canal which is already on the plan. In addition, Mahan enthusiasticallycalls on the Anglo-American cooperation on sea power.Chapter Four is titled as The problem of Asia: land power and sea power. Underthe peaceful environment ensured by the European balance of power, Europeannations in succession take the policy of expansionism. The problem of Asia is gettingmore and more important. After occupied the Philippines, America is bound toinvolve in this problem. In Mahan’s analysis, the long competition between Britainand Russia virtually is the contest between sea power and land power. Particularly,Mahan points out that sea power and land power both need the support of the other.That means land power is eager for outlets to the sea, meanwhile sea power needbases on the land. In addition, about the nature of sea power and land power, Mahanargue that sea powers concern about commerce, peace and influence; however, landpower tends to attack and keep the door closed. Therefore, he calls on that sea powersshould cooperate and keep the balance between land power and sea power. The final part is conclusion. In1910, Mahan has seen that the European balanceof power is at stake under the impact of Germany. He calls on America to assume herresponsibilities in maintaining the global balance of power, to play an important rolein the Pacific. In the post-Cold War world, maintaining the balance of power has beenthe consensus among the strategists. Therefore，Mahan’s discusses on balance ofpower and sea power still has the era significance.