Many of his tenets about world politics and strategy are mainstays of contemporary international relations theory. Mahan was certainly a close reader of Thucydides and examined the strategies pursued by the great powers of the Ancient Greek world. This tradition traces its lineage back to Thucydides and includes such prominent thinkers as Hans Morgenthau and Henry Kissinger. Mahan’s thought belongs squarely within the power politics tradition in the field of international relations.
Wilson wanted Americans, including retired officers of the armed services, “to be neutral in thought as well as deed.” Mahan’s words carried such weight that, after the outbreak of the First World War in Europe, President Woodrow Wilson issued a notorious gag order, meant to silence him because his candid remarks in support of Great Britain in the struggle against Germany contradicted the administration’s views on American neutrality. Roosevelt, to cite just one example, solicited Mahan to publish commentary on strategy and international affairs. His views on strategy and international relations were highly sought after by news outlets, the public, and policy makers. He served as a celebrated and prolific policy commentator for almost a quarter of a century. Indeed, he sought to apply the study of history to understand foreign policy and strategy problems of his own day. While made famous by the publication of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Mahan was also a close student of international relations and policy analyst of strategic affairs. These histories examine the role played by navies in determining the outcome of wars fought by the European great powers during the period between the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries, and remain valuable for their insight into sea power and strategy. Respected as a scholar in his own times-he was elected President of the American Historical Association in 1902-Mahan is now best remembered as a naval historian, his reputation resting primarily on his famous books on The Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Indeed, he might be considered the thinker on sea power, the essential starting point for studying the course and conduct of war at sea and for understanding the strategic importance of the maritime commons in determining the rise and fall of great powers.
Alfred Thayer Mahan stands out as one of the foremost thinkers on naval warfare and maritime strategy.
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