ABSTRACT
Mahan called the sea a ‘great common’; perhaps this was one of the phrases that made Rosinski consider him essentially an epigrammatic thinker. Certainly it encapsulates several ideas that have to do with a major component of maritime power: Trade and access. A national shipbuilding industry used to be regarded as an essential component of maritime power. Nations, including medium powers, have accepted dependence they would never have countenanced before 1950, sometimes accompanied by catastrophic declines in their own shipbuilding industries. The existence of military power at sea is a fact of history and of the present day. Maritime military power can be provided for purposes other than safeguarding trade or resources. These purposes are in the broadest sense political, involving as they generally do the maintenance or enhancement of the state’s position in the world. All aspects of maritime power, whether economic or military, are influenced by international law.
