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Rudderless and Adrift: States’ Unwarranted Timidity Respecting Stateless Vessels
Full text linkThis article argues that there is no international legal impediment to any State robustly asserting prescriptive, enforcement, or adjudicative jurisdiction over vessels without nationality. It first examines the rules relating to vessel nationality to demonstrate the strong international preference that vessels be properly flagged in a particular State. It then examines the phenomenon of vessels without nationality, with a focus on what constitutes statelessness, and what the contemporary understanding is of the jurisdictional effect of that status. It concludes with a legal analysis, based on the Lotus principle and a recent U.S. appellate court decision that relied upon it, of the international entitlements and/or restrictions relating to vessels without nationality. Ultimately, the article’s intent is to demonstrate that there is no international legal impediment to States taking what is characterized in the article as a more assertive approach to, ultimately, deeming vessels to be stateless and robustly exercising jurisdiction over such vessels based on that status
Proportionality: Can’t Live With It But Can’t Live Without It
Full text linkPerhaps no other word in the international humanitarian law lexicon evokes more interest and emotion than proportionality. How States implement the rule of proportionality is perhaps the most hotly debated aspect of international humanitarian law. The indeterminate nature of the rule allows for its meaning to conform to whatever its reader wants it to mean. This is a consequence of the variables related to key provisions of the rule: How do we assess military advantage? What makes an anticipated military advantage “concrete and direct”? And most problematic of all, what is the meaning of the term “excessive”? All of these concerns raise troubling questions. Can the proportionality rule truly matter without consensus on what amounts to non-compliance? Does the rule’s indeterminacy undermine its value as a legal tool? This essay will consider several aspects of the proportionality rule: first, why it still reflects a critically important principle of military operations despite its indeterminacy; second, its limited operational efficacy as a civilian risk mitigation measure; and third, why shifting the focus to the principle of constant care and the subordinate rule of precautions in the attack will advance the humanitarian interests of the law
Okinawa and the Offshore Island Chain—Eisenhower’s Joint Chiefs and the Foundation of Strategic Flexibility
Full text linkWith the end of the Korean War and acceleration of the Cold War, debate in the 1950s over how to posture U.S. forces in the Pacific against threats from the People’s Republic of China focused on what now is known as the first island chain. Decisions hinged on differing interpretations of the concept of “strategic flexibility” and established the foundation of continued U.S. presence in the region today
Management or Misdirection—Competing Logics for Military-to-Military Contacts between Great-Power Rivals
Full text linkContacts between militaries have long been viewed as positive, but history demonstrates their potential for exploitation. The intensity of great-power competition requires a more thorough understanding of the logics behind these activities. This novel typology of the different motivations behind pursuing or engaging in contacts with another military suggests how planners and practitioners can best plan how, and whether, to engage with rivals and friends alike
The People of China\u27s Navy & Other Maritime Forces Conference Quick Look
Full text linkQuick Look Report for China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Conference “The People of China\u27s Navy and Other Maritime Forces”
The China Maritime Studies Institute held its biennial unclassified academic conference on 14–15 May 2025 to address human factors in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s military maritime forces. Roughly 150 external and 200 Naval War College students and faculty attended the event. Panel topics included (1) senior leadership, (2) the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) headquarters, (3) PLAN warfare communities, (4) PLAN talent recruitment, development, and retention, (5) the personnel of China’s other sea forces, and (6) implications for the U.S. Navy and allies/partners.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-findings/1000/thumbnail.jp
Houthi Maritime Terrorism: Severing the Iranian Lifeline
Full text linkThe Houthis have carried out an unprecedented assault on commercial shipping and foreign warships operating in international waters off the Arabian Peninsula that has changed the face of maritime terrorism. These waters are a strategic corridor that facilitates international trade and the movement of naval forces from Europe and the Americas to the Middle East and Asia via the Suez Canal. As a result of the Houthi attacks, most shipping companies rerouted their vessels around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope, which adds significant costs and adversely affects the global supply chain, increasing inflation, and exacerbating food insecurity in developing nations. The United States considers these unlawful attacks on shipping a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security and has taken appropriate action in coordination with key allies and partners to curb Houthi aggression. These actions include operations to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation and degrade Houthi capabilities to attack international shipping and coalition warships. In addition, the United States has designated the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity and a Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S. law. Those designations provide additional tools to hold the group accountable for its terrorist acts, discourage Houthi attacks on international shipping, and inhibit Iranian military support to the rebels to contain Tehran’s influence in the region. President Trump has also signed National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM)-2 to impose maximum pressure on Iran to end its nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program, and stop its support for terrorist groups
Proper Conceptualization of Naval Operational Doctrine—A Case Study of the Israeli Navy
Full text linkThe character of naval warfare is changing profoundly, and traditional conceptions of victory may no longer apply. Naval warfare requires systematic reconceptualization to ensure that operational doctrine is applicable to the future environment and that navies are tasked with, train to, and are structured for missions they actually are able to accomplish. The Israeli navy’s early successes, more-recent challenges, and current contribution to the ongoing response to the 7 October Hamas attacks are illustrative
The Kamikaze Throughline—U.S. Fleet Air Defense from Imperial Japan to Drones
Full text linkSince World War II, fleet air defense has been organized around the principle of engaging threats as far out from the fleet as possible, motivated by early failures to engage the kamikaze threat. This approach remains as vital as ever and progressively more challenging in the face of the contemporary threats posed by cruise missiles and—increasingly—by drone warfare