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Sailors and Scholars: The History of the U.S. Naval War College, 1884–2009, Vol. 1
No full textVolume I, 1884–1984: The First Century, covers from the Naval War College’s founding during the era of Luce and Mahan through its centennial anniversary during the Cold War, detailing how the College came to be widely acclaimed as the premier center of professional naval education and thought.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/sailors-and-scholars/1000/thumbnail.jp
The Doctrine of Constructive Presence and Damage to Submarine Cables and Other Critical Underwater Infrastructure
No full textMaritime law enforcement regarding attacks on critical underwater infrastructure remains one of the weakest parts of the legal system governing undersea infrastructure. While the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1884 Submarine Telegraphic Cable Convention require States to criminalize and penalize willful or negligent damage to submarine cables, these agreements depend heavily on national enforcement. In international waters, enforcement becomes more complicated due to the principle of exclusive flag State jurisdiction, which limits a coastal State’s ability to enforce laws in international waters. This article proposes that the legal doctrine of constructive presence provides an international law remedy for suspicious activity involving the deliberate damage or destruction of submarine communication cables and submarine pipelines. As an exception to exclusive flag State jurisdiction, the doctrine grants a coastal State the legal authority to assert both prescriptive and enforcement criminal jurisdiction over foreign-flagged ships that deliberately damage or cut offshore submarine cables and pipelines outside of the coastal State’s sovereign waters, so long as the cable or pipeline lands within its territorial sea
Toward a Sea-Power Strategy—Chinese Communist Party Debates and Consensus Building under Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping
Full text linkChina’s rise as a major maritime and naval power in recent decades resulted from a deliberate policy choice, but that choice was not an uncontroversial one. Internal Chinese Communist Party debate about naval power was resolved by balancing entrenched continental interests, resulting in an integrated but possibly compromised policy approach
Episode 16: Tangled Tensions; Is Syria the Next Threshing Floor On the Counter-Terrorism Landscape?
No full textGuests Gen (Retired) Joseph L. Votel, and Dr. Colin P. Clarke join host Dave Brown and co-host Dr. Heidi Lane to discuss the U.S. mission in Syria and the implications for U.S. counter-terrorism in the region and continuing to prevent the re-emergence of ISIS.
Articles: In Syria, America Should Be Ruthlessly Focused on the Islamic State, J. Votel & E. Dent, WOTR, 17 Jan 2025 Trump Administration’s Counterterrorism Policy Should Begin at Golan Heights, C. Costa & C. Clarke, Cipher Brief, 8 Jan 2025
See Also: The Danger of Abandoning Our Partners J. Votel & E. Dent, The Atlantic, 8 Oct 2019 How to Protect America After the Syria Withdrawal J. Votel & E. Dent, The Atlantic, 21 Oct 2019
See More: Beyond Assad: The Rise of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Syria’s Uncertain Future, R. Rossoukh, Brandeis University, 18 Dec 2024 Israel demands complete demilitarisation of southern Syria, S. Usher, BBC News, 24 Feb 2025 Squeezed between Turkey and Sharaa, Syria\u27s Kurds face stark choices, A. Zaman, Al-Monitor, 13 Feb 2025 Post-Paris Steps in Syria Could Be Decisive, D. Margolin & A. Zelin, Washington Institute, 28 Feb 2025 The Syria Breakdown, Episode Four: Revolutionary Rebuilding and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), A. Zelin, Washington Institute, 28 Feb 2025
Guests:
Joseph L. Votel, General USA, (Retired); Retired four-star general in the U.S Army, and former commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Mar 2016 to Mar 2019, where he oversaw military operations across the region, including the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. He also served as the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). During his military career, Gen Votel gained extensive operational experience across the Middle East, the Levant, Central and South Asia, Northern Africa, and the Horn of Africa. Votel is a non-resident distinguished senior fellow on national security at the Middle East Institute.
Colin P. Clarke, Ph.D., Director of Research and Senior Research Fellow at The Soufan Group (TSG), an intelligence and security consulting firm based in New York City. He is also an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter Terrorism (ICCT) - The Hague, and a non-resident Senior Fellow in the Program on National Security at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). Prior to joining TSG, Clarke was a professor in the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He frequently appears in the media as a subject expert on global security, conflict, and terrorism, and is the author of several books, including After the Caliphate: The Islamic State and the Future Terrorist Diaspora.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/the-trident/1015/thumbnail.jp
CMSI Translations #15: Inscribing Loyalty While Endeavoring to Advance into the Deep Blue
Full text linkThe sea and sky blend into a singular shade, with starlight accompanying the ship’s voyage. Somewhere the vast Pacific, the Chinese Navy\u27s aircraft carrier formation is organizing to train, and the destroyer Nanchang, joining a carrier formation for the first time, is tasked with escort duty. Suddenly, two foreign vessels turn a wide arc one after the other and speed toward the carrier formation. “This is Chinese Navy Ship 101, please keep a safe distance from me and inform me of your intentions.” Nanchang quickly maneuvers and firmly maintains its position in the carrier formation. Simultaneously, the ship’s officer of the deck shouts a warning. The foreign vessels make several unsuccessful attempts to cross the formation but have no choice in the end except to resentfully turn away and depart the area. Endeavoring to advance into the deep blue, in each thrilling and important mission, the Nanchang’s Party Committee team is always ensuring that “The ship is maneuvered by us, and we listen to the guidance of the Party,” leading the officers and sailors as they repeatedly overcome risks and challenges faced. The leaders of the Nanchang’s Party Committee told reporters, “only a combat formation that is loyal to the Party while being tough and powerful can route all enemies and prevail in all engagements.”https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-translations/1014/thumbnail.jp
CMSI Translations #16: Tracking Their Wake: How Strong Is the U.S. Navy Today?
Full text linkNearly 80 years have passed since the end of World War Two, and during this time the U.S. Navy has always ranked as the number one navy in the world, mainly thanks to support from America’s enormous national power. But for the past ten years or so, with the great decline of America’s economy, the U.S. Navy has had to face more and more problems. For example, the service lives of ships have grown longer and longer. There has been a serious lack of repairs and maintenance work. The speed of shipbuilding has noticeably slowed. And [the U.S. Navy’s] newest class of aircraft carrier was not operational for five years after it was launched. These problems indicate that the U.S. Navy is in a state of exhaustion and will find it difficult to handle all manner of potential confrontations and war in the 21st century.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-translations/1015/thumbnail.jp
The U.S. Executive Order on Seabed Mining is Consistent with International Law
Full text linkThis article analyzes the legality of U.S. unilateral seabed mining authorized by Executive Order 14285, signed by President Donald Trump on April 24, 2025, permitting mineral extraction on the U.S. continental shelf and international deep seabed. Critics, including China, the European Union, and the International Seabed Authority, contend that this policy violates international law by circumventing Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which designates seabed minerals as the “common heritage of mankind” and mandates regulation through the ISA. The article asserts that, as a non-party to UNCLOS, the United States is not bound by the terms of the treaty. While the United States signed the 1994 Implementing Agreement, the action has no legal effect under Article 4(2) unless the State also consents to be bound by UNCLOS itself. Further, even if Part XI constitutes customary international law, the United States qualifies as a persistent objector, having consistently operated pursuant to the 1980 Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA). Through sustained State practice—encompassing legislative measures, executive actions, and NOAA-issued mining licenses—the United States has explicitly rejected Part XI’s regulatory authority
