European Naval Power (eBook)

This book charts new waters in the study of European naval power. It explores the evolution of Europe's navies from the final days of the Cold War to a period of hybrid wars and renewed strategic competition, manifest in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the Asia-Pacific Region. The study compares and contrasts the development of maritime forces across the continent during a period of fundamental change within the global security environment. By applying a novel methodology that links strategies, force structures, and operations, the book determines when, why, and to what degree each navy either continued to focus on competitive and state-centric missions, aimed at the defense of national territory and interests, or rather embraced an entirely new naval paradigm, based on collaborative and system-centric understanding of shared maritime security. The author highlights how inconsistencies and shortsighted naval policies have led to dangerous capability shortfalls and offers several recommendations for navies to navigate successfully the future maritime environment. This book provides an invaluable resource for policymakers, practitioners, scholars, and students interested in European security, transatlantic defense cooperation, and global maritime security issues.

Dr. Jeremy Stöhs is an Austrian-American security and defense analyst and policy advisor. He is the Deputy Director of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda & Security Studies at the University of Graz (ACIPSS) and is a senior fellow at the Institute for Security Policy at Kiel University (ISPK). His publications include The Decline of European Naval Forces: Challenges to Sea Power in an Age of Fiscal Austerity and Political Uncertainty (Naval Institute Press, 2018) and How High? The Future European Naval Power and the High-End Challenge (Djøef Publishing & Centre for Military Studies Copenhagen, 2021). Jeremy holds a Ph.D. in political sciences and regularly teaches at several universities and defense colleges.