The opportunity to represent ‘different knowledge’
Toasts. A representation, the one placed on the facade of the former Saca warehouses, reproducing a month of the Navy calendar in honor of the San Marco Brigade stationed in Brindisi, has a meaning and a meaning to be highlighted on the occasion of the G7 which will take place in Brindisi , from 13 to 15 June.
Without going into reckless investigations into who is to blame for the initiative – in Brindisi everything and everyone is exploited – what remains is the image that expresses the meaning, the expression of a ‘military force of the State, and a meaning, a ‘maritime power’ of a nation-state to be respected; image placed at the entrance of a ‘military zone’ to honor – even with a dinner – the highest office of the State, the President of the Republic and Head of the Armed Forces, together with the world’s greats.
The concept of power, including maritime power, is different from that of sovereignty which provides for a well-defined people and territory and for the historian, Domenico Bonamico, maritime power represents the complex of a country’s maritime energies: military, mercantile, port and industrial sectors, including the public and private sectors, in strengthening an economy with a systemic vision.
In an era, that of digital, we understand the role achieved by information and big data whose management is indeed a ‘source of dominant power’ and through which some nation-states, such as China, not only impose, but they draw the indications to manage social, economic and environmental crises, with a continuous ‘state of surveillance’; especially in this period in which trade is replacing war.
In this context, the ever-current ideas of the Captain of the Vessel, Alfred T. Mahan (1840-1914), a distinguished scholar and well-known American theorist of Maritime Power, based mainly on the concept of ‘sea power’ and on the influence of maritime historiography – Brindisi has a lot to show – as a key to understanding international relations.
In fact, even today, nation-states compete, in a non-war condition, to take away the dominion and control of the sea from others. Domination understood as possession, but also surveillance of routes and straits, as well as the generation of Exclusive Economic Zones, real or presumed. For the economist Captain Mahan, the maritime powers were advantaged because they were able to destroy the trade of the continental powers and because they exercised the ‘projection of power’, through naval bases to support both war and mercantile activity, on various territories of the globe .
In geopolitics, ‘sea power’ and the naval component, expressed in the image of San Marco, act together with the business, financial and economic sectors to guarantee the security and prosperity of the nation-state and above all in maintaining peace.
The new threats – which will develop between artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, machine learning, industry 4.0, 5G, trade balance, foreign direct investments, sovereign funds, etc. – will make the international context not only changeable, but not well defined in the classic friend-enemy dichotomy.
In this technological and digital scenario, the sea – with its routes, straits, communication cables, energy pipelines, Exclusive Economic Zones, supply chains, etc. – will remain a fundamental element of economic competition to be carefully monitored, wherever national interests lie. Their safety, also intended as a psychological deterrent, will determine the survival and success of the Italian economic system in the world, but also the maintenance of internal social well-being.
Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, with his successful editorial work – The Influence of Sea Power Upon History – published in 1890, analyzes the events that occurred on sea and on land from 1660 to 1783. From a semantic point of view, Mahan did not gave a clear definition of Maritime Power, but wrote that the dominion of the sea (Command of the Sea) is “… the possession of that authoritarian Maritime Power which drives the enemy flag from the seas … and which, controlling the great common property, the sea, closes the routes through which trade moves to or from enemy coasts.” According to Mahan, the tool to achieve the objective of dominating the sea, essentially the control of maritime communications, becomes Maritime Power (Sea Power), exercised by the union between the Military and Merchant Navy, together with the industries and the economic-financial structure that support them.
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History by Alfred Thayer Mahan is a groundbreaking and influential work that explores the profound impact of naval power on the course of world events. Mahan, a renowned Navy officer and strategist, presents a comprehensive analysis of the vital role that maritime forces have played throughout history. In this seminal volume, readers are taken on a gripping journey through centuries of naval warfare, diplomacy, and exploration. Mahan examines the strategies and tactics employed by great maritime powers, from the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome to the British Empire and beyond. He delves into the importance of naval dominance in shaping political alliances, trade routes, and the rise and fall of empires.
Nicholas Lambert’s new book, the ‘Neptune Factor’ is a brilliant addition to this intellectual tradition. It serves as a starting point for scholars and sailors, urging them to expand Mahan’s strategy to meet the volatile challenges of the twenty-first century. In today’s interconnected world, it is critical to incorporate geoeconomic issues into our strategic planning. But that is not all. The book also highlights the need to integrate new concepts such as cybersecurity, the use of space resources, and the implementation of underwater and surface maritime unmanned vehicles into our naval technology. The environmental threats that increasingly harm the oceans – pollution, illegal fishing, global warming, melting ice and plastic – must be addressed comprehensively and holistically.
The ‘Neptune Factor’ is the first attempt to explain how Mahan’s definition of maritime power has changed over time. Far from presenting sea power in terms of combat, as is often thought, Mahan conceptualized it in terms of economics. Starting from the belief that international trade transported across the world’s oceans was the single greatest driver of national wealth (and therefore power) in history, Mahan explained sea power in terms of regulating access to the ‘common’ and influencing transoceanic trade flows.
And then, the invitation is to understand that the critical relationship between the Navies (Military and Mercantile) and the international economy (blue sky) is a reason that has once again become important. I am referring to the knowledge economy which always remains an expression of ‘the power of freedom’.
The image of the San Marco Brigade is an expression of a transversal Italian competence dedicated to guiding some distracted people in knowing that Italy is a nation-state cooperating in a European context and not only in the Mediterranean, in the defense of a ‘maritime power’ to safeguard the own trade and that of allies.
Abel Carruezzo
