Abstract: In the definition of Mahan`s theory of Seapower, the material conditions and military power are essential for the countries to strengthen national power and develop the Seapower. And the Seapower also becomes one of the methods to strengthen national interests and power. It didn`t be explained that how do the countries find the way to seek for power and interests and what does the Seapower mean to other countries? In my article, I try to explain that after 1949, the process of PRC that seek for Seapower and the meanings to other countries by Constructivism.

In 1890, the American naval officer and scholar Alfred Thayer Mahan formulated as a theory that seapower brings prosperity. This thesis in War Science tests whether Mahan’s theory remains valid in the modern day. A multi-disciplinary approach is taken, wherein a financial event study method is employed for hypothesis testing. Prosperity is the product of many factors that interact in complex systems. Consequently, isolating the positive contribution of seapower is difficult. Its influence is therefore inferred from its absence, in the form of failure to protect shipment of a key commodity. By the logic of the operationalisation, insufficient seapower results in attacks on shipping. Information of attacks is promptly reflected in asset prices on intensively traded financial markets. A negative change in a stock market index represents a reduction in the value of the traded assets. This in turn implies a negative contribution to national prosperity. Specifically, attacks on supertankers are used as empirical data. The ensuing impact is measured in first order effects on oil prices and second order effects on stock market returns. A strong correlation is found between attacks on supertankers and oil price shocks. A sufficiently strong impact is found on stock market returns to allow for arguing that Mahan’s theory retains validity. Given recent developments in major power relations, Mahanian postulates may be more in fashion now than in the previous century. The findings complement previous research on the benefits from seapower, naval presence and maritime security. In addition to general policy implications from exhibiting the significance of seapower, an elaboration on the current security situation’s ramifications for small states. Thereby it situates seapower in its grand strategic context.

From an academic perspective, the discipline of war studies is still underdeveloped. There is a lack of metatheoretical research compared to other social science research, despite the fact that it faces the same ontological and epistemological challenges as other sciences. Furthermore, a lack of understanding different phenomena diminishes precision in language and thus also the ability to stand on the shoulders of giants and contribute to the common body of knowledge. The aim of this study was to contribute to an increased understanding of the phenomenon of sea power in war studies. Hence, this study, based on Hulterström & Widén's philosophical and metatheoretical theory on combat, sought to answer the following questions: (1) How can different views on the phenomenon of sea power in the field of naval theory be categorized? (2) How can different perspectives of the phenomenon of sea power in the field of naval theory be understood? Firstly, the results of the study show that different views on the phenomenon of sea power can be categorized using the three perspectives: Brian Crisher & Mark Souva's view of sea power as a physical perspective, Geoffrey Till’s as a social perspective and Jacob Børresen’s as a human-centered perspective. Secondly, the results of this study show that sea power, like combat, changes character and significance depending on the perspective of a theorist. On the basis of these results, one conclusion is that Hulterström & Widén’s theory is fruitful for the analysis and categorization of phenomena other than combat. Additionally, by conceptualizing different perspectives, the author’s modified analysis tool can be seen as new way to approach the phenomenon of sea power.

Fleets have the ability to affect an adversary’s use of the seas for transportation. Nations have in numerous occasions exercised this power in order to ravage their opponent’s trade in times of conflict with the purpose of diminishing their military might. Great naval thinkers like Mahan and Corbett have described this use of seapower during conflicts in great depth but theories regarding the use of seapower to affect a nation’s peacetime economy in order to achieve limited political goals is lacking. This thesis attempts to analyze the use of seapower in the form of economic sanctions to answer the question; “How is seapower exercised in economic sanctions?” in order to remedy this. The results show that seapower is mostly used to halt the inward flow of goods to a nation and general sanctions are more often used than sanctions targeting specific commodities. What these sanctions aim to achieve is often to limit military capacity and to disrupt military aggression. This thesis comes to the conclusions that a force capable of operating anywhere on the globe for an extended period of time is vital for the effectiveness of economic sanctions, seapower is a necessary part of the enforcement of economic sanctions and that naval theory has been too preoccupied with large scale conflicts and neglected the use of seapower to achieve limited political goals with economic measures during times of peace.

Submitted by CAMILA CRISTINA RIBEIRO LUIS null (camila.luis@yahoo.com.br) on 2018-03-26T15:44:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese Camila.pdf: 4455685 bytes, checksum: 49398391cfc7016b7cdf100c729e65e1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Satie Tagara (satie@marilia.unesp.br) on 2018-03-26T19:18:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 luis_ccr_dr_mar.pdf: 4455685 bytes, checksum: 49398391cfc7016b7cdf100c729e65e1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-26T19:18:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 luis_ccr_dr_mar.pdf: 4455685 bytes, checksum: 49398391cfc7016b7cdf100c729e65e1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-28 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a dimensão do Atlântico Sul na política externa brasileira, considerando como referência teórica os conceitos e práticas da política exterior brasileira, bem como a análise do conceito de Poder Marítimo, na perspectiva de realização de uma Estratégia Marítima. Assim, analisamos o processo de formulação de políticas voltadas para o mar, que ganharam espaço na agenda brasileira a partir da intensificação das discussões internacionais em torno do aproveitamento do espaço marítimo, das quais o Brasil procurou participar ativamente. A partir dessa análise inicial, as resultantes do processo interno foram confrontadas com o contexto geopolítico do Atlântico Sul, em paralelo à presença de outros atores nessa área marítima. Tal embate analítico aponta para o dualismo entre um “Atlântico Sul regional”, consubstanciado na Zona de Paz e Cooperação do Atlântico Sul, e um “Atlântico Sul global”, marcado pelo contexto da globalização e das novas ameaças, traduzido em diversas iniciativas, que integram a área marítima sul-atlântica à política global. Assim, a política externa brasileira no Atlântico Sul projeta-se em uma área marítima onde coexistem e se sobrepõem estratégias multifacetadas, contrapondo atores globais com ambições em escala mundial e atores regionais, em que prevalece a influência direta do eixo estratégico formado por potências navais do Atlântico Norte. / The objective of this paper is to analyze the South Atlantic dimension in Brazilian foreign policy, considering as theoretical reference the concepts and practices of Brazilian foreign policy, as well as the analysis of the concept of Seapower and Maritime Strategy. From this perspective, the paper analyzes the process of formulating policies concerned to the sea, which have gained space in the Brazilian agenda as a result of the intensification of international discussions about the use of maritime space, that Brazil has actively sought to participate in. From this initial analysis, those resulting from the internal process were confronted with the geopolitical context of the South Atlantic, in parallel with the presence of other actors present in this maritime area. This analytical clash points to the dualism between a “regional South Atlantic”, embodied in the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, and a “global South Atlantic”, marked by the context of globalization, new threats, and differentiated initiatives that integrate the South Atlantic in the global politics. Thus, the Brazilian foreign policy in the South Atlantic is projected in a maritime area where multi-faceted maritime strategies coexist and overlap, opposing global players with global ambitions and regional actors, in which prevails the influence of the great powers of North Atlantic. / El trabajo tiene por objetivo analizar la dimensión del Atlántico Sur en la política exterior brasileña, considerando como referencia teórica los conceptos y prácticas de la política exterior brasileña, así como el análisis del concepto de Poder Marítimo, en la perspectiva de realización de una Estrategia Marítima. Así, el trabajo analiza el proceso de formulación de políticas orientadas al mar, que ganaron espacio en la agenda brasileña a partir de la intensificación de las discusiones internacionales en torno al aprovechamiento del espacio marítimo, de las cuales Brasil buscó participar activamente. A partir de ese análisis inicial, las resultantes del proceso interno son confrontadas al contexto geopolítico del Atlántico Sur, en paralelo a la presencia de otros actores presentes en esa área marítima. Tal embate analítico apunta al dualismo entre un “Atlántico sur regional”, consubstanciado en la Zona de Paz y Cooperación del Atlántico Sur, y un “Atlántico Sur global”, marcado por el contexto de la globalización y de las nuevas amenazas, traducido en iniciativas diferenciadas, que integran el área marítima sur-atlántica en la política global. La política exterior brasileña en el Atlántico Sur se proyecta en un área marítima donde coexisten y se superponen estrategias marítimas múltiples, contraponiendo actores globales con ambiciones a escala mundial y actores regionales, en que prevalece la influencia directa del eje estratégico formado por potencias navales del Atlántico Norte.