The Role of Sea Power in International Trade

The Role of Sea Power in International Trade Introduction The ability of one country to influence another economically, politically, and militarily has in the past heavily depended on sea power as the other part of the soldiers and the army were not strategic. In this essay, it will then be important to analyze the interactions of trade and naval power1.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Sea Power in International Trade specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To discuss how sea power was used to influence national strategies, economists have been using various economic models such as the gravity model of trade and the comparative advantage which controls the geographic, economic, and political factors. Theoretically and in the real sense, military conflicts among warring countries are expected to reduce trade through the established embargoes and disruptions. However, in contrast to the expectations of many, sometimes warring between two nations may not infl uence international trade if the countries have very minimal global reach (Penubarti Ward, 2000). Seapower The historical influence that the marines or the navy has had on international trade and the complications in comparing measures of sea power has been issues of discussion in the past. The links between sea power and trade have been an issue and how navy in the past has influenced maritime trade. As we focus on the warring nations, we shall therefore focus on how power projections2 have affected international trade in the past. The strategies used on the other hand were designed in such a way that they could connect the trading links between the country and her allies and also to her neutral countries. In doing so, this reduced the level of both military and civil goods available to support any of the enemy’s endeavors. The navies were also doing this in order to protect their own trade in a bid to boost trade between their countries and her allies. One of the most know n forms of economic combat that has been used by the navy is the strategy of guerre de course. This strategy is usually aimed at raiding and destroying the commerce systems of the enemy country.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is a more preferred strategy by nations which feel inferior and whose own trade and commerce felt threatened by a more powerful navy. Instances where this technique has been used includes the fledging of the US navy against the British early in the year 1862, the French also did the same against the British in the 19th and 20th centuries and the Germans against the allied powers during the two world wars3. The use of these techniques was in contrast to the expected history where the navies used to fight for show of power. in this case, the navy was fighting in order to make the trade immobile. In this case, by limiting the other country’s expor t would increase your exports to another country (Bartholomees, 2008). Major forces which were encouraging the use of this technique particularly by the French on the British were its dependence on international food supplies. The navies viewed that may be by inducing food shortages; social and labor unrests would arise in England thus weakening the military in the long run. Technological changes also influenced the decisions to engage in commerce raiding. With the creation and the introduction of torpedo boats and submarines in the navy, this made the guerre de course even more easy and effective. The typical aim of these attacks was to reduce the enemy’s ability to effectively carry out military operations. Among commercial blockades, those intended to starve or weaken the enemy’s population by reducing the importation of food and other necessities have traditionally received the most attention (Rahman, 2007 p. 6). In the past, it has been seen as a function of the n avy to protect an entire trading system. In return, the desire to increase the naval strength has sometimes been exaggerated every so often even forcing countries to change their policies. With policy makers feeling that their countries need more protection, this has led to the escalation of the naval budgets. For example, before the First World War, the British viewed that the Germany navy was not mostly aimed at protecting their own commerce but to destroy that of England. As a result, many policy makers in England felt that a complete command in the sea was the first requirement before the country could completely venture into commerce.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of Sea Power in International Trade specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other naval actions which have hurt international trade, though most of the times at low levels, in the past include: The use of gun boat diplomacy4, flag display and the frequent policing on frequent waters. Most of the times these actions do not include anything more than showing the fleet but the show to intimidate or threaten serves the purpose. For example Ahmed (2007) gives the example of how the US maintained an Asiatic squadron5 of ships in the Far East during the past two centuries as they sought to advance and improve their commercial interests. As a result, their trade with China improved while destroying the trade relationship between Japan and China due to the military influence exerted by the Americans. Conclusion Navies or Seapower in general serves many functions with the interference of international trade being one of them. In the past, as we have seen, seapower has been used as an instrument in influencing trade and military operations: thus intertwining both commercial and naval interests where countries have used their sea power to influence the activities of others as well as enacting policies which seek to strengthen their mari ne power if they feel threatened. Bibliography of notes Measure of economic and naval power influence The power projections include use of guerrede course (war of race) strategies, blockades, embargoes and other less explicit forms of economic warfare Ahmed S. Rahman, 2007. Fighting the Forces of Gravity Seapower and Maritime Trade between the 18th and 20th Centuries Gunboat diplomacy for refers to the pursuit of some foreign policy objective through the use or threat of limited naval force A squadron is a military flight can simply be describes as a unit of military organization. Reference List Bartholomees, J. Boone. Eds. â€Å"U.S. Army War College Guide To National Security Issues† Volume I: Theory Of War And Strategy. 3rd Edition. (2008). Web. Penubarti, Mohan., and Ward, Michael. â€Å"Commerce and Democracy,† Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Working Paper No. 6, University of Washington. (2000). Web.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Rahman, Ahmed. â€Å"Fighting the Forces of Gravity† Seapower and Maritime Trade between the 18th and 20th Centuries. (2007). Web. Footnotes 1 Measure of economic and naval power influence 2 The power projections include use of guerrede course ( war of race) strategies, blockades , embargoes and other less explicit forms of economic warfare 3 Ahmed S. Rahman, 2007. Fighting the Forces of Gravity Seapower and Maritime Trade between the 18th and 20th Centuries 4 Gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of some foreign policy objective through the use or threat of limited naval force 5 A squadron is a military flight can simply be describes as a unit of military organization.

The Importance of Being Leadbelly essays

The Importance of Being Leadbelly essays Women and Liquor, that was his problem. My father got him to marry his girl, Martha, and that settled him for a while, a week or two. He called himself the twelve-string champion guitar player of the world, and I guess he was. I never heard anybody who could play it better. He loved being the best. He wanted to stay the best as long as he was alive. Hes just a name on a lot of lists: the fourth or fifth name on a list of influences, never first, and all too often not mentioned at all where appropriate. Hes also an ex-convict, who was a sweet old man only while sober, which wasnt often enough. But by looking at the people he influenced, you can see that Huddie Ledbetter, Leadbelly, was redeemable no matter what he did aside from making music. The self-proclaimed King of the Twelve-String Guitar was more aptly the Godfather of the Twelve-String Gui-tar, being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as an influence. He died poor and pitiful of a form of multiple sclerosis, and six months afterward his first hit song was a million-seller for another group. And every generation thereafter earned a new respect for a band that used one of his versions of a song. The importance of Leadbelly lies not in his legendary evil ways; it was in his great talent for making popular music. To make note of his importance, its important to note his discoverer, John Lomax. Lomax was on a constant search funded by the government to find its musical roots, rather to preserve what it could of them once the portable recording device was created. At the time Lomax met him, Ledbetter was serving a sen-tence at the Angola Prison Farm in Louisiana for murder, the second long stretch in prison for him. During his first run in prison, for assault in 1925 in Texas, he would play music for the guards to get lighter work-loads and eventually his music gr...

Business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Business law - Essay Example The company core product is hamburgers. Other products that the company offers include fries, sandwiches, beverages, and salads. Those against the organization assert that the enterprise has been behaving in an unethical manner by producing unhealthy food. Although the group has continued to expand its operations globally, McDonalds once used to receive negative media coverage. The hamburgers that they sell have been associated to cause obesity in some countries. In addition, people have questioned the employment practices of the company. Accusations of unfair employment practices have been leveled against McDonalds with many employees reporting a high degree of job dissatisfaction (Taylor, 197). In the U.K, the company once underwent a series of the legal battle with the public perceiving the company as being unethical in its employment practices. Initially, the corporation had empowered managers to recruit employees solely without a clear guideline for the process. The action meant that managers had an upper hand in determining their preferred potential employees. The process of hiring employees was biased and lacked transparency. Consequently, the company ended up hiring the wrong employees. This sparked mass protest from the public because they felt that they were not offered equal job opportunities for the enterprise. Furthermore, the only job vacancies that were easier to secure were less motivating and dissatisfying. Consequently, negative media coverage was intensified which was a big blow to McDonald’s reputation because it adversely affected its operations in the U.K. Interestingly, most of the employees revealed that they had negative attitude towards their employer given the fact that most jobs they had been offered were of inferior quality (Taylor,198-199). McDonalds embarked on a vigorous employer branding initiative given that the image had been considerably