International Order at Sea

This book examines how international order at sea is challenged, changed and maintained. The book surveys challenges to the international order at sea in the Asia-Pacific, the Indian Ocean Region, the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It explores the interaction between and cooperation among leading, emerging and smaller naval powers, both naval and coastguard responses, required for the maintenance of good order at sea. Six broad and interlinked issues are identified that will influence the future international order at sea: the balance between the maritime and the continental domains; the balance between great power rivalry and cooperation; the contest between access and denial; the operational balance between preparing; building and training for warfighting as opposed to operations other than war; how to manage ‘disorder’ security challenges that very often transcends territorial waters and national boundaries, and finally, the balance between safeguarding national interests and contributing to collective efforts preserving the international order at sea.

Jo Inge Bekkevold is Head of the Centre for Asian Security Studies at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. With Robert S. Ross, he recently edited China in the Era of Xi Jinping: Domestic and Foreign Policy Challenges, 2016. Bekkevold is a former Norwegian diplomat who served in Hanoi and Beijing.

Geoffrey Till is Professor Emeritus of Maritime Studies and Chairman of Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies at King’s College London, UK. Since 2009 he has also been a Visiting Professor at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He is the author of Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century, 2013.