Great Power Competition in the Southern Oceans: From the Indo-Pacific to the South Atlantic

ISBN-13: 9783031364754 / Angielski

Ariel Gonzalez Levaggi

Opis

Great power competition is the watermark of the current global scenario. In this regard, the maritime and naval dimension have a particular relevance on the struggle for regional and global hegemony. This book has the potential to engage with multiple audiences, since develops an analytic approach to understand naval great power competition in the maritime spaces of the Global South. It is set within a neoclassical realism approach, while engaging literature from international relations, international security, and studies on the Indo-Pacific and the South Atlantic security dynamics. The book offers a unique conceptual framework to understand how great powers select their maritime strategies, presents a series of regional and global maritime strategies by the United States, China, Russia and India, while assess their impact in the Southern Oceans, focusing in the Indo-Pacific realm and the South Atlantic.

Spis treści

Introduction

Chapter 1

– Between global (dis)order and strategic competition: the struggle for

maritime supremacy

1.1.

Between realists and liberals: two traditions of international order

1.2.

Strategic competition between great powers: the place of the sea

This

section presents two approaches to the international order, while opting for a

realist interpretation in which security-related factors condition the degree

of international cooperation in a world characterized by both uncertainty and

interdependence. It then analyzes the distinctive character of the current

international order, the strategic competition in a multipolar world, the place

of the sea in the great powers competition era, in addition to analyzing the role

of the great powers.

 

Chapter 2

– Between threats and capabilities: choosing a Maritime Strategy

Grand

Strategy and its expression in the maritime sphere are key to understanding how

great and regional powers respond to the perception of external threats. The

notion of strategy can be approached in multiple ways although it traditionally

refers to a series of elements that seek to achieve a certain end with a

limited number of means. This chapter presents the main conceptual notions

guiding the essay: grand strategy, the question of threats, capabilties and the

choice of a maritime strategy.

 

Section II

- Naval Competition in the Oceans of the Global South  

Chapter 3

- United States: naval hegemony faces the Eurasian challenge

3.1.          

The city on the hill:

domestic and international bases of U.S. hegemony

3.2.          

Rise and fall of liberal

hegemony: common values, global commitments and democracy promotion.

3.3.          

The world according

to the Pentagon

3.4.          

The challenge of the

century: sustaining the edge in maritime dominance

The United

States remains at the top of the global hierarchy given the superlative weight

of its economy, the capacity for technological innovation that has driven the

latest productive revolution and its extensive military capabilities. However,

in recent years its hegemony and leadership have been progressively questioned

for different reasons. From the failure of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 to the

abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, as well as the ups and downs in

relations with China, Russia, Iran and the Latin American region itself, have

given rise to questions about the stability and predictability of Washington's

international strategy. In any case, despite different implementation modalities,

there is a common logic throughout the different White House administrations:

the maintenance of global supremacy. This chapter presents the main elements

that make up this US grand strategy and then analyzes how it is expressed in

the maritime dimension.

 

Chapter 4

- People's Republic of China: the great dream of a maritime power

4.1.

'Democratic Centralism': the Chinese Communist Party in the age of

globalization

4.2. Grand

Strategy in the Xi Jinping era: from Pacific Development to the Chinese Dream

of the Great Rejuvenation

4.3 The

People's Liberation Army and Active Defense: defensive strategy, offensive

tactics

4.4. The

'Blue' Dream: developing capabilities for a 'Distant Water' Navy.

China's

rise over the last three decades has generated a series of global discussions,

among which the nature and effects of its political regime, the decision-making

process within the party-state-armed forces triad, its development strategy and

the impact of its opening up to economic globalization and, finally, the

consequences of its global emergence for the international system stand out.

Although these topics are the subject of extensive discussion, in this section

we will point out the main elements that will allow us to introduce the

political, economic and international specificity of Beijing. This chapter

presents the main elements that make up China's grand strategy at both the

regional and global levels and then analyzes its reflection in the military and

maritime spheres.

 

Chapter 5

- Russian Federation: between military reform and naval modernization

5.1.

Putin's Grand Strategy in the new era of competition and uncertainty

5.2.

Military strategy: hybrid conflicts and regional priorities

5.3. Russian

Navy: between the coast and the seas

Since

Vladimir Putin's rise to power, Russia has combined the centralisation of

executive authority with economic stabilisation based on the energy sector,

allowing it to lay the foundations for a return to the forefront of the

international stage both in terms of its diplomatic role and its renewed quest

for regional hegemony in the post-Soviet space and the maintenance of its

influence and status as a global power. Until 2014, Russia had a largely

pragmatic strategy, although it has progressively taken a series of offensive

attitudes that ended in the military invasion of Ukraine. The strategy is

underpinned by a tripod of objectives - preservation of global power status,

primacy in the post-Soviet space and deterrence of NATO expansion - which are

implemented through the use of a wide range of tools, including military

coercion. Despite being considered an eminently land-based power, Russia's

maritime phase is key to considering its role as a great power. This chapter

analyses the main sources of Russian 'grand strategy' and its expressions in

the military and maritime realm.

 

Chapter 6

- India: a democratic power with maritime aspirations

6.1. New

Delhi in the world: international strategy in a complex environment

6.2.

Multiple threats, military responses: India’s Military strategy

6.3.

India's maritime strategy: regional priorities, global issues

Over the

past two decades, India has enjoyed vibrant economic growth, while the dynamism

of its global presence and the strength of its democratic institutions have

enhanced the country's international prestige and status. By 1991, the then

Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao implemented a series of economic reforms that

led to the "Indian miracle" that will develop in parallel with the

continuation of a powerful nuclear and missile arsenal. Despite its superlative

weight in South Asia, the complex regional scenario in both its continental -

due to the ongoing conflict with Pakistan - and maritime dimensions - in the

face of the advancing Indian projection of the People's Republic of China -

presents a number of challenges for India's leadership in both the Indian Ocean

and the Indo-Pacific region. In this context, India has sought to strengthen

its maritime presence and play a greater role in maritime spaces by developing

a proactive maritime strategy. This chapter explores the main elements of

India's international strategy and then develops a sketch of its military and

maritime dimensions at both the regional and global levels.

 

Section

III - Naval Competition in the Oceans of the Global South  

Chapter 7

- Indo-Pacific: clash of the titans

7.1. A

multipolar scenario: a crossroads of narratives and geopolitical stakes

7.2.

Critical instability: from Taiwan to the Gulf of Aden

7.3. New

wine in old wineskins: institutions, alliances, and regional challenges

Until

recently, the idea of the Indo-Pacific was almost unknown, even to those who

specialize in international affairs. From a strictly geographical point of

view, this mega-region involves a subset of areas of great geopolitical

importance within a mega-region. In its western portion, regional maritime

powers such as India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged both in

regional competition and in a complex game of matryoshkas where strategies of

extra-regional global powers such as the United States and China coexist with

non-traditional threats and non-state actors. In the Eastern space, China's

rise as the leading regional and maritime power has not only changed the

strategic calculus of neighboring countries, but has also raised concerns about

its maritime security aspirations in the Indian Ocean due to explicit actions

to protect sea lines of communications and the transit of goods and supplies to

and from China. This chapter analyze the complex game focusing in the clash of

narratives and geopolitical interests, assessing the main regional hot spots

and evaluating regional and global initiatives in the maritime realm.

 

Chapter 8

- The South Atlantic and the global strategic competition

8.1. South

Atlantic: the peaceful sea

8.2.

Sustained presence: United States 

8.3.

Increasing projection: China

8.4.

Selective projection: Russian Federation

8.5.

Limited projection: India

Until the

mid 1970s, the South Atlantic was a relatively stable space beyond Argentina's

permanent sovereignty claim over the Malvinas/Falkland, Georgias and South

Sandwich Islands, partially disconnected from the main global geostrategic

dynamics and characterized by a low degree of interaction both in economic and

commercial terms. However, the decolonization process in Lusophone Africa and

the Malvinas/Falkland War changed the profile and forced Western powers to pay

greater attention to a strategically neglected space. The end of the Cold War

eased the perception of systemic threat, while negotiations for the

normalization of bilateral relations between Argentina and the United Kingdom

facilitated the return to a certain stability. However, the lack of resolution

of the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands, the new role of China and

Russia, and the growing presence of extra-regional powers in the Antarctic

present a series of worrying challenges for the future South Atlantic. This

chapter evaluates the presence of the United States in the region, in addition

to the projection of Eurasian naval powers which presents a major challenge to

regional stability.

Conclusions

O autorze

Dr. Ariel González Levaggi is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. He is also Senior Researcher at the Center for Research and Strategic Studies of the Argentine Navy, Associate Researcher of the regional think tank CRIES, Co-Chair of the Section ‘Asia and the Americas’ at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and Senior Associate (Non- Resident) at the Americas Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Blurb

Great power competition is the watermark of the current global scenario. In this regard, the maritime and naval dimension have a particular relevance on the struggle for regional and global hegemony. This book has the potential to engage with multiple audiences, since develops an analytic approach to understand naval great power competition in the maritime spaces of the Global South. It is set within a neoclassical realism approach, while engaging literature from international relations, international security, and studies on the Indo-Pacific and the South Atlantic security dynamics. The book offers a unique conceptual framework to understand how great powers select their maritime strategies, presents a series of regional and global maritime strategies by the United States, China, Russia and India, while assess their impact in the Southern Oceans, focusing in the Indo-Pacific realm and the South Atlantic.

Dr. Ariel González Levaggi is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina. He is also Senior Researcher at the Center for Research and Strategic Studies of the Argentine Navy, Associate Researcher of the regional think tank CRIES, Co-Chair of the Section ‘Asia and the Americas’ at the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and Senior Associate (Non- Resident) at the Americas Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).