ABSTRACT
This chapter has attempted a preliminary ground-clearing on the subject of navies and the prestige factor. A country's neglect of the prestige factor in naval policy might not only encourage harassment or attack from adversaries, but might contribute to an important lack of self-confidence. Negative prestige might inhibit a naval power from effectively using its real capabilities. The traditional linkage between naval power and international status has not been as obvious in the last thirty years. Several factors have contributed to this: the changing utility of military force in general, the decline of imperialism, the longer range of weapons systems, the increased differentiation in the attributes of prestige, and periodic doubts about the future of navies in the modern world. Military power is still crucial in international politics, and it still has to be made visible, but it is not as prominent in the orchestration of foreign policies.
