In Maritime Power and the Law of the Sea: Expeditionary Operations in World Politics, Commander James Kraska analyzes the evolving rules governing freedom of the seas and their impact on expeditionary operations in the littoral, near-shore coastal zone. Coastal state practice and international law are developing in ways that restrict naval access to the littorals and associated coastal communities and inshore regions that have become the fulcrum of world geopolitics. Consequently, the ability of naval forces to project expeditionary power throughout semi-enclosed seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and along the important sea-shore interface is diminishing and, as a result, limiting strategic access and freedom of action where it is most needed. Commander Kraska describes how control of the global commons, coupled with new approaches to sea power and expeditionary force projection, has given the United States and its allies the ability to assert overwhelming sea power to nearly any area of the globe. But as the law of the sea gravitates away from a classic liberal order of the oceans, naval forces are finding it more challenging to accomplish the spectrum of maritime missions in the coastal littorals, including forward presence, power projection, deterrence, humanitarian assistance and sea control. The developing legal order of the oceans fuses diplomacy, strategy and international law to directly challenge unimpeded access to coastal areas, with profound implications for American grand strategy and world politics.

Winner of the Mahan Prize, 2010

About the Author
Commander James Kraska, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy, is the Howard S. Levie Chair of Operational Law in the International Law Department at the U.S. Naval War College. He also serves as a Senior Fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Guest Investigator and former Fellow at the Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. As the former Oceans Policy Adviser for the Director, Strategic Plans & Policy, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Commander Kraska led global freedom of navigation policy for the U.S. armed forces for three years. Commander Kraska earned a doctor of jurisprudence (J.D.) from Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a master of laws (LL.M.) and a doctor of juridical science (J.S.D.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. Commander Kraska completed four Pentagon senior staff assignments and two tours in Japan, and he served as legal adviser for joint and naval task force commanders operating in the Pacific.

Reviews
"This book offers much as far as adding to current discussions about international law at sea, and the extent to which states can extend their own laws and interests beyond their own territories. Kraska's book is a useful guide to specific international law that is likely to see a place in university reading lists and libraries. As for the less academically inclined reader, its content is generally accessible, and therefore it may find a place on the bookshelves of non-experts in the field of maritime security." --Timothy A Martin, Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs (2012) Vol. 4(4)


Awards
Winner of Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement 2010.



Book Information
ISBN 9780199773381
Author James Kraska
Format Hardback
Page Count 484
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 836g
Dimensions(mm) 165mm * 239mm * 36mm