Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sea Dominance Theory

This study focuses on the emergence process of Alfred Thayer Mahan's Sea Dominance Theory and its elaboration on the model of England. Alfred Thayer Mahan is tried to be introduced and is intended to be explained together with the technical details of the Sea Dominance Theory. Also the parallelism between Mahan's explanation of the rise of England in terms of sea power and the third cycle of George Modelski's Theory of Long Cycles is analyzed. Furthermore, the conditions of 17th and 18th century Europe and the naval warfare are explained in detail in order to elucidate the rise of England and exemplify the Sea Dominance Theory. Thus, the situation of England and other European powers are shown in comparison. Finally, several reasons for the rise of England that have not been taken into account by Mahan are pointed out. In this way, it is debated whether hegemony is exclusively linked to access to the sea.