An Empire of the Straits, an Empire of the Shores

A strait is a line of water between two shores. This is its nature, and in it lies the whole secret of its politics. A fleet can cross a passage, and can even watch it for a time, but it cannot hold it: sooner or later it must coal, repair and anchor somewhere. To control a strait in a stable and permanent way one must possess its shores, command a base on the nearby land, and very often dominate its hinterland.

The control of a maritime passage, in other words, is not merely a naval undertaking; it is a territorial one. This is why the British Empire, which rested upon the control of the world’s great straits, was driven to occupy, one after another, the lands that surrounded them.

This analysis answers: What is the central argument of “An Empire of the Straits, an Empire of the Shores”, and why does it matter for European defence and dual-use markets? How does the analysis address why a strait cannot be held from the sea? How does the analysis address gibraltar: the rock and the harbour? What does this mean for European defence funding, procurement and investment decisions?