Концептуализация морской силы в мировой политике

Abstract

The article studies the formation of the sea power theory and its influence on world politics. Although seas influenced the rise and fall of states since ancient times, they acquired strategic importance only after the beginning of the Age of Discovery. From that moment, sea turned into a global transport network and also became a political instrument for transforming the balance of power in the world. After that the formation of the sea power of states began, which led to the rise of the British colonial empire. The research of the success of Great Britain formed the theory of sea power, which developed in the works of Western geopoliticians A. Mahan, F. Colomb, J. Corbett, and others, including Russian theorists N. L. Klado, S. G. Gorshkov, etc. Despite the fact that initially the founder of the theory, American Admiral Mahan, studied the experience of Great Britain to apply it to American politics for the rise of the United States on the world stage, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries the theory quickly gained popularity among many other countries. According to some researchers, this was one of the reasons for the beginning of the “naval arms race” in Europe that rose contradictions in the distribution of the balance of power, which subsequently led to the First World War. It is indicated that the theory of sea power determined the global politics throughout the 20th century, and also led to the emergence of the United States not only as a great sea power, but also a superpower. Therefore, the main purpose of the article is to study the influence of sea power on the world politics of the 20th century. The theory also remains relevant today, because the relevance of using the World Ocean in achieving economic and political goals does not decrease, and therefore the study of the theory can be useful for the development of the maritime and naval strategies of countries.