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Abstract

This dissertation considers the role of the Royal Navy moving into the 21st century, exploring whether policy makers have dedicated adequate importance on the service to meet their expectations in the era of Global Britain. It underlines the importance of the navy in projecting soft and hard power in the 21st century, and considers the differing tasks that can achieve this. The dissertation begins by acknowledging the relevance of naval forces in maintaining maritime security, whilst appreciating the economic and cultural underpins which link the maritime domain to the United Kingdom. It goes on to explore the meaning of hard power, how the Royal Navy has been implemented in this fashion historically, and how state threats could be reacted to in the 21st century. Finally, the piece examines soft power, seeing how multilateralism, human security and freedom of the high seas could be increased by naval operations. Utilising critical analysis the dissertation has examined government reports and academic literature, placing particular interest on the growing size of the fleet and the forward deploying of the Global Navy. Accordingly, the argument proposed throughout the dissertation highlights how the Royal Navy could have a positive effect as a tool for both hard and soft power. Alternatively, it also views the inexorably rising number of commitments required by policy makers to not match the investment placed on the fleet.

Course: International Relations - MA - P2929FTD

Date Deposited: 2022-08-18

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13998.html