Research Area: Political Economy​

Economic Cost Realities Mean Idea Of New Battleships Doesn’t Float

By John D. McCown, John D. McCown

Role of Allies Like Korea Essential to Rebuild U.S. Shipbuilding Industry

By Dr. Steven Wills, Matthew Reisener

2026 and All That: Another Benchmark Year in Royal Navy Declines

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Jones Act Waiver: A Diagnostic Report on America’s Maritime Capacity Gap

By Dr. Steven Wills

The US Can’t Build Trump’s Battleships, But Our Allies Can

By Alex Lee

It’s Time to Bring Back MINEWARCOM

By Ethan Connell, Jonathan Walberg

Navy Under Secretary Argues Focus On Acquisition Cost Usually Counterproductive; Explains Reform Moves

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Fix the Jones Act—Don’t Scuttle It

By Dr. Steven Wills

Learning from the ‘Voyage of the Damned’: The Making of a Russian Naval Disaster

By Dr. Steven Wills

Reflecting On And Honoring America’s Grand Maritime Heritage

By John D. McCown

Britain’s Dangerous Defense Illusion

By Matthew Reisener

FY2027 Shipbuilding Plan Provides Stark Assessment, but Questions Remain

By Matthew Reisener

The Iran War’s Hidden Cost at Sea

By Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.

Cracks in Civil-Military Trust are Widening

By Nicholas Weising

Pete Hegseth’s blocks on promotions rankle former military leaders

By Hunter Stires

Golden’s Amendment and the U.S.-ROK Shipbuilding Alliance

By Daniel Choi

Learning from Allied Foreign Shipyards and Utilizing AI | Pier Review Study

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Matthew Reisener, Dr. Steven Wills, Nicholas Weising

The Long, Hard Slog of Becoming a Maritime Nation

By Dr. Steven Wills

Firing Phelan Won’t Immediately Fix Shipbuilding Woes

By Matthew Reisener

Cooperation is key to rebuilding Canada-U.S. maritime manufacturing muscle

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Matthew Reisener

Damn the Cruise Missiles and Full Speed Ahead in Hormuz

By Dr. Steven Wills

Blue-water Navies: South Korea Becoming a Responsible Stakeholder

By Nazia Kazi

The Jones Act Waivers Aren’t Achieving Stated Purpose But Hinder Long Term Maritime Goals

By John D. McCown

Caught in the Net

By Matthew Reisener

How to build and maintain a ‘Golden Fleet’ of 381 Navy ships

By Matthew Reisener

John Phelan forced out as Navy secretary after 13 months

By Hunter Stires

Fireside Chat with Secretary Braithwaite | Live at Sea-Air-Space 2026

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Navy secretary leaving the Pentagon, ‘effective immediately’

By Hunter Stires

Navy secretary is out amid Pentagon infighting

By Hunter Stires

Trade Relies on Freedom of Navigation by Cargo Ships that Drive the World’s Economies

By John D. McCown

Europe Is Accelerating a NATO Fallback Plan in Case Trump Pulls Out

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Pier Review: Leveraging the Allied Maritime Industrial Base for U.S. Shipbuilding

By Matthew Reisener

Vance to lead Negotiations with Iran in Pakistan Saturday

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Iran war: Israel says ceasefire is ‘not end of campaign’ | DW News

By Dr. Steven Wills

Trump Made a Deal That Gives Him Nothing He Wanted

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Navy secretary’s removal points to Trump’s anxiety over shipbuilding

By Hunter Stires

New MAP Offers Wish List for Achieving White House Maritime Goals

By Matthew Reisener

The Hormuz Crisis and the Case for Reconnecting the Navy and Merchant Marine

By CDR Ander Heiles, USN

Jones Act waivers won’t sink California gas prices

By John D. McCown

Defending Global Order Against China’s Maritime Insurgency – Part 1

By Hunter Stires

Defense Reinvestment as Naval Strategy: Sector-Based Contributions and Industrial Base Competition

By Bill Cullifer

SPECIAL REPORT: Lawmakers race to pass SHIPS Act before midterms

By Dr. Steven Wills

Let Foreign Yards Build U.S. Navy Auxiliary and Service Ships Now

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Pitfalls of Present-day Privateering

By Dr. Steven Wills

Meeting the MARAD Administrator | The Honorable Stephen Carmel

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

Suppressing Wages of Naval Architects is the Last Thing the U.S. MIB Needs Right Now

By Andrej Klema

Pitfalls in Political Warship Designs

By Dr. Steven Wills

Is Sustaining Maritime Dominance Even Possible?

By Dr. Jeff Harley

United We Stand: How States can Contribute to Securing the Future of America’s Maritime Industrial Base

By Timothy Lee

The Battle for American Waterways

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Arsenalotti for America: Lessons from The Serene Republic for a U.S. Maritime Industrial Corps

By CDR Dan Justice, USN

“They Were Playing Chicken”—The U.S. Asiatic Fleet’s Gray-Zone Deterrence Campaign against Japan, 1937–40

By Hunter Stires

Failure to Launch: How Political Backpedaling Could Hand China the Carrier Edge

By Ethan Connell, Jonathan Walberg

China calls Trump battleship ‘easier target’ amid mixed US reception

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Maritime Policy Statement and Ensuring National Defense

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Sea Control 591: Maritime Statecraft and Its Future with Steve Brock and Hunter Stires

By Hunter Stires

Maritime America: Sea Power, the Early Republic, and America’s Lost Maritime Strategic Tradition

By Samuel Byers

The U.S. Navy’s Strategic Focus and Modernization Priorities: The Foundry, the Fleet, the Fight

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Chinese Maritime Strategy and the PLAN with Toshi Yoshihara

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Why Donald Trump Is Not Set on Venezuelan Regime Change

By Matthew Reisener

In Defense of Aircraft Carriers and a Navy that is Not ‘Broken’

By Dr. Steven Wills

Canine Readiness – A Forgotten Force Multiplier

By LTC (ret.) Richard Vargus, PhD

A New Mississippi Squadron: The Navy’s Need for a Brown-Water Fleet

By Connor Ronka

Celebrating the 250th Anniversary of the Navy with Secretary John Lehman

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

Episode 737: Maritime Statecraft and its Future, with Hunter Stires

By Hunter Stires

Maritime Statecraft and its Future

By Hunter Stires

Is the US Navy Unprepared? Yes and No.

By Dr. Steven Wills

Book Review: The Price of Victory: A Naval History of Britain, 1815-1945

By Ken Brown

IPDI Spotlight: Reimagining the Allied Maritime Industrial Base

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Need for Strategy: Comparing Mahan and Roosevelt on the Maritime War of 1812

By Zachary Turinsky

Shooting Behind the Duck: Fixing America’s Maritime Strategy with Brent Sadler

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

More Nuclear Energy, More Maritime Security

By Michael Purzycki

Building Maritime Operations from the Bottom Up; Review of Essays in Honor of Captain Wayne Hughes

By Dr. Steven Wills

Europeans insist on security guarantees for Ukraine as Russia balks: ANALYSIS

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

The Denial Navy: A Strategic Concept for American Maritime Security

By Haddon Antonucci

The Clear Case for More U.S. Flag Ships Operating Internationally

By John D. McCown

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea: Progress and Future Challenges

By Kempton Baldridge

A Bad Idea: Shuttering Navy Office for Unmanned Systems, Small Combatants

By Dr. Steven Wills

How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Shape Key Defense Priorities

By Dr. Steven Wills

Make “Old Ironsides” the CNO Flagship

By Dale Jenkins

Returning from Ebb Tide: Renewing the United States Commercial Maritime Enterprise

By Dr. Steven Wills, Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

What DOGE Can Learn from Robert McNamara

By Dr. Steven Wills

Mastering The Waves: Learning to understand the maritime-industrial strategy behind Trumps’ foreign policy vision

By Grant Morgan

Trade & U.S. National Security: What Constitutes an International Economic Emergency

By John D. McCown

Global Fishing Vessel Tracking: Why the U.S. should lead with AIS

By LT Austin Newcomer

What a historic absence of its top officer means for the Navy

By Dr. Steven Wills

Trump is Right to Revitalize U.S. Shipbuilding

By Kathryn Selinger

Senior Officers Are Not the “Villain”

By Dr. Steven Wills

How the trade war could blow the Navy off course

By Commander Michael Borja, USN

In Brief: Reviving the U.S. Shipbuilding Industry

By Dr. Steven Wills

Keep the Fires Going: What the Kingdom of Denmark’s Leadership Means for the Arctic Council

By Ava Moore

In Defense of CNO’s in an Unfriendly Washington D.C.

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board Accelerates the Journey to Achieve a “Hybrid Fleet”

By George Galdorisi

Port Fees Will Pave the Way for America’s Maritime Resurgence

By Rob Gioia

The New Trump Administration and Incoming German Chancellor Merz – Will Berlin and Washington Strengthen Defense Cooperation?

By Ewa A. Andryjalowicz, M.A.

American Maritime Supremacy for Peace, Jobs, and Prosperity: A Path Forward for Executive Action

By Richard B. Levine

The Case Against Letters of Marque: Combat at Sea Belongs to the Sea Services 

By Lieutenant Junior Grade Brennan Suffern, USCG

The Nation Needs a Maritime National Security Strategy

By Dr. Steven Wills

Greatest Maritime Infrastructure Project Ever Still Benefits US More Than A Century Later: Part 1

By John D. McCown

Combatting Chinese Maritime Dominance with the Trade Act

By Luke Lorenz

Interview with Admiral (ret.) James G. Foggo

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

New Administration, Congress Should Bring Order to Warship Naming Process

By Dr. Steven Wills

Jimmy Carter Was No Friend of the U.S. Navy

By Dr. Steven Wills

CAVASSHIPS Podcast | Episode 172: Clark, McGrath & Wills Wrap-up ’24 and Look Ahead to ’25

By Dr. Steven Wills

Kelly/Waltz SHIPS Act Seeks to Elevate the Value and Numbers of U.S. Commercial Ships

By Dr. Steven Wills

Trump Team Should Focus on Molding a New Generation of ‘Warrior Admirals’

By Dr. Steven Wills

Surviving as a Prisoner of War

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

“To Provide and Maintain a Navy” Is Not Enough: Making the Case for American Sea Power Requires More

By Dr. James W.E. Smith

Trump Administration Must Reform how U.S. Navy Designs, Builds Warships

By Dr. Steven Wills

The Accidental Veteran: Remembering Alfredo “Anzio” Rinaldi

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Grading Goldwater-Nichols at Forty Years; Has it Worked?

By Dr. Steven Wills

Confronting the Axis of Authoritarianism: The Need for a Robust Defense Build-Up to Empower a Multi-Theater Strategy

By Nathan Fiala

Make the Navy Great Again

By Samuel Byers

Reviving Letters of Marque

By Zac Morgan, Ian A. Merritt

Naval Diplomacy and Defense

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

In Defense of Conventional Punishment: Why Japan’s Defensive Realism Requires Offensive Capability

By Will Kielm

Part 2: In Defense of Conventional Punishment: Why Japan’s Defensive Realism Requires Offensive Capability

By Will Kielm

Memo to Next President: Bolster the Merchant Marine Fleet

By Dr. Steven Wills

Part 1: In Defense of Conventional Punishment: Why Japan’s Defensive Realism Requires Offensive Capability 

By Will Kielm

The Founders Wanted a Powerful Navy: The Constitution Was Built for It

By Michael Lucchese

The Clear Case Today for Globalization Preserving National Security: Part 1

By John D. McCown

Does the Navy Need to “Pound the Table” Again to be Heard in Washington?

By Dr. Steven Wills,

NATO’s Contribution to Critical Maritime Infrastructure Protection

By Christian Bueger

The Balearic-Strait-Canaries Axis and Spanish Maritime Strategy

By Gonzalo Vazquez

Clear & Predictable Capacity Caps At America’s Seaports Need Addressing For Commercial & Security Reasons

By John D. McCown,

Up for Debate: Should the U.S. ratify UNCLOS?

By James Kraska, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

U.S. Maritime Priorities for a New Era of Competition

By Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien (ret.)

Part II – U.S. Fisheries Enforcement in the Western Pacific: Embracing the Long Run

By LTJG Logan J. Tobias

Part I: Combatting Short Term Limitations of U.S. Fisheries Enforcement in the Western Pacific

By LTJG Logan J. Tobias

Sen. Kelly to propose Legislation to strengthen Commercial Shipping

China and Russia in the Black Sea Region: Moving towards Pax Sinica?

By Thea Dunlevie

U.S. Navy Warship responds to Red Sea Attacks

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Ghost Ships Already wreak Havoc

By Katherine Camberg

China enslaves People at Sea and We don’t have the Wherewithal to stop It

By Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.

Up for Debate: The Jones Act

By John D. McCown, Andrew Hale

Ukraine’s Strategy for Winning the Battle of the Black Sea

By David Kirichenko

The U.S. should underwrite Real Cases of Maritime Innovation

By John D. McCown

BBC World Service “Newsday” Interview on Ukrainian Humanitarian Corridor

By Thea Dunlevie

A new grain corridor highlights Ukraine’s military successes in the Black Sea, experts say

By Thea Dunlevie

How to defeat Russia’s War on Ukrainian Grain: Navies go Small, Diplomacy goes Big

By Bradford Dismukes, Barry Blechman

The Importance of Seabed Critical Minerals for Great Power Competition

By Thea Dunlevie

Achieving More with Less: The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet Bets on Unmanned Vehicles and AI Systems to Bolster Maritime Domain Awareness

By Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco

Learning from Transatlantic Allies to secure the Subsea Domain

By Thea Dunlevie

Finland could help the U.S. build a Fleet of Polar Cutters

By Gonzalo Vázquez

International Reactions to Maritime COIN Project

By Hunter Stires

U.S. Naval Promises Still Matter to Abu Dhabi

By Clara Keuss

The Eastern Front: Let’s Talk Black Sea Security, Pt. II (with Adm. James Foggo)

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Undercurrents of Italy’s Indo-Pacific Agenda

By Gabrielle Moran

ADM James Foggo on Forging Peace and Stability in the Eastern Mediterranean

The Eastern Front: Let’s Talk Black Sea Security (with Thea Dunlevie)

By Thea Dunlevie

Securing Maritime Data: The Battle Against China’s LOGINK in U.S. and European Ports

By Albert Vidal

Russia’s Threats to Shipping Bring Risk of War to Black Sea

By Thea Dunlevie

Anticipating the Next Black Sea Shipping Crisis

By Thea Dunlevie

It’s No Surprise if Russian Oil continues to sail into Bulgarian Ports

By Thea Dunlevie

Dangerous Encounters in the Western Pacific

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Alexander Hamilton’s Timely Lessons for U.S. Industrial and Maritime Strength

By Michael D. Purzycki

The Black Sea Grain Initiative has become a Game of Chicken, and We can’t let Russia Win

By Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.

The United Nations Black Sea Grain Initiative: What is Plan B?

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Reflecting on One Year of War: Standoff and Cooperation in the Baltic Sea

By Elisabeth Braw

Time to Recalibrate (Part Two)

By John D. McCown

Time to Recalibrate (Part One)

By John D. McCown

Reflecting on One Year of War: The Food Crisis That Started in Ukrainian Ports is Now a Global Policy Challenge

By Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.

What to Watch 2023: The Global Competition in the Western Pacific

By Dr. Jeff Harley

2022 A Year in Strategic Review

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

A Next-Generation Agenda for US-ROK-Japan Cooperation

By Andrew I. Park

Chip Diplomacy: Semiconductors and the Threat of Conflict

By Michael Barth

Blockade the Belt and Road or Taipei Airlift?

By Dr. Steven Wills

Responding to the Russia-UN Ukrainian Grain Export Plan

By Bradford Dismukes, CAPT, USNR (ret.)

Proceedings Podcast Ep. 276: The Maritime COIN Project Begins

By Hunter Stires

U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea Relations: A Practical Trilateral Agenda for Northeast Asia and Beyond

By Andrew I. Park

The Maritime Counterinsurgency Project Begins

By Hunter Stires

The First of the Dominoes has Fallen in the Growing World Food Crisis

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Ian Ralby, J.D., Ph.D.

Russia’s Hunger Blockade

By Admiral James G. Foggo, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Dr. Steven Wills

Deterrence: Selected Articles from the Naval War College Review

By Hunter Stires

Episode 458: Maritime Insurgency and Counterinsurgency with Hunter Stires

By Hunter Stires

Episode 399: The Asiatic Fleet of 1941 and its Lessons of Today

By Hunter Stires

Perrys to the Rescue: Could the U.S. Navy’s Retired Frigates Make a Comeback?

By Hunter Stires

1941 Asiatic Fleet Offers Strategic Lessons

By Hunter Stires