ABSTRACT
This chapter explains an innovative perspective on the topic using an analytical framework which is very rarely applied to naval studies where strategic studies and military history methodologies are prominent. It examines the criteria used to classify navies, so as to show what a 'small navy' is according to the generally accepted representation in the specialised academic literature and within naval establishments. The chapter shows that naval multilateralism also contributes to the normalisation of the practice of projecting security beyond one's own boundary as a way to contribute to the stability of the liberal international order. The literature review, the subsequent analysis of the classification criteria and the establishment of a theoretical hierarchy show that the ranking process is more complex than simply differentiating a 'small' navy from a 'large' one. The literature, navies are ranked using two main recurring criteria, i.e. the reach and projection capabilities. Thus, the resulting naval hierarchies are principally functional.
