Changing Facets of Maritime Warfare in a Multipolar World

This book offers a timely and rigorous examination of how maritime warfare is evolving in a post-Cold War multipolar world. Challenging legacy assumptions rooted in Cold War era naval strategy, it traces the transition from ideologically driven, state-centric maritime confrontation to a fragmented and uncertain security environment shaped by multiple power centres, emerging technologies, and diffused threats. At its core, it argues that the global power equilibrium has decisively shifted away from unipolarity, even as debates persist over the nature of contemporary power distribution. As maritime threats, from strategic competition and grey-zone operations to regional security and contested commons, expand and transform, this power shift has become prominent. With no single power capable or willing to underwrite global maritime security, traditional models of naval dominance and deterrence have become inadequate, compelling adaptation. Distinctive in its approach, this book integrates strategic theory, geopolitical analysis, and regional security perspectives to examine the rise of multipolarity, the emergence of new maritime powers, and evolving concepts of cooperative security. It foregrounds the need for adaptive maritime warfare strategies that balance competition, deterrence, and collaboration. Scholarly, policy-relevant, and pedagogically valuable, this book fills a critical gap in strategic warfare literature by systematically linking multipolarity with changing maritime threat scenarios. It is essential reading for scholars, policymakers, and students engaged in contemporary and future debates on naval power, maritime security, and global order.