Throughout history, research on sea power has mainly focused on naval superpowers with global reach, but the application of sea power is still relevant for coastal states without means or ambitions to rule the high seas. In 1994, Norwegian Fleet Admiral Jacob Børresen met the need of a post-Cold War theory of sea power usage for smaller navies by publishing the article The Seapower of the Coastal State. As Sweden qualifies for the definition of a coastal state and could gain from optimizing its sea denial abilities, the aim of this study is to validate the relevance of Børresen’s theory for the Swedish Navy of tomorrow. Using a qualitative text research method, this study compares and contrasts Børresen’s theory with the Swedish and Norwegian military advice study, to find to what extent the naval strategy of the two coastal states aligns with the functions that the coastal navy, according to Børresen, must be able to perform in times of war. The results show alignment to a large extent, with coastal artillery and the utilization of territorial awareness being the main exceptions. In conclusion, this theory holds an obvious relevance for present studies of sea denial and deterrence.

In the World today the sea is a vital part of global commerce. Historically the merchant fleet has been a national asset which meant it was the navy’s responsibility to protect them. Today however, most commercial shipping is registered under a flag of convenience. The sea, as a trade route, is vital to many countries for economic reasons and the threat to it is a huge issue. Escalating piracy incidents in recent years off the coast of Somalia has resulted in many nations sending their navy’s to protect merchant shipping but how prepared are they?The navy should strive for Command at sea or modern sea control. There is however, a discussion on its application during peacetime and this paper aims to support one side or the other by looking at cases of piracy around Somalia. To do this, cases will be looked upon with the concept defence of shipping which exploits sea control. If a navy uses methods that are explained in defence of shipping they also have sea control.The analysis shows that navy’s outside of Somalia have used methods that are found in the concept defence of shipping. Therefore, it is possible that sea control can be used in peacetime.

The littorals, narrow seas, brown water or coastal areas, whatever definition, warfare in a coastal environment favors the defender due to environmental characteristics. But is this theory valid even when an actor does not hold the ability to organize an effective defensive system along its coastline? How can a weaker defensive actor create a naval ability to strike towards and deny a stronger opponents’ sea control?This thesis investigates the shift in initiative and command of the seas in the Black Sea during the first two years of the war between Russia and Ukraine.The result is two-folded; Even when almost totally erased, a coastal state can conduct sea denial and even establish local sea control to protect its own coast. Unfortunately, this thesis cannot validate if these actions will lead to victory at sea, even less victory of the war.