The navy in the post-Cold War world: The uses and value of strategic sea power

by Colin S. Gray

The Navy in the Post-Cold War World is the first book to invite the reader to think strategically―that is, in means-ends terms―about the navy in the new post-Soviet era. It provides a unique synthesis of strategic theory, defense analysis, and history. Colin Gray first explains how sea power "works"; explores the strategic relationship among sea, land, and air power, with particular attention to the course of a conflict viewed as a whole; and ventures boldly into the region of the meaning of space strategy for maritime power and the relevance of that power in the still emerging post-Cold War security environment. The Navy in the Post-Cold War World is unusual because it is written by an internationally recognized general strategic theorist and analyst rather than by a long-standing naval writer. Gray is thus better able to view naval issues in proper perspective. Gray delves deeply into the role of sea power as an enabling agent and team player in the overall enterprise of national and international security. He provides the most current assessment of what sea and space power mean for each other as well as envisioning the future of maritime-oriented defense.

204 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

Colin S. Gray was a British-American strategic thinker and professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading, where he was the director of the Centre for Strategic Studies. In addition, he was a Senior Associate to the National Institute for Public Policy.

Gray was educated at the University of Manchester and the University of Oxford. He worked at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Hudson Institute, before founding the National Institute for Public Policy in Washington, D.C. He also served as a defense adviser both to the British and U.S. governments. Gray served from 1982 until 1987 in the Reagan Administration's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament. Furthermore, he taught at the University of Hull, the University of Lancaster, York University, Toronto and University of British Columbia. Gray published 23 books on military history and strategic studies, as well as numerous articles.