Research for Foregin Policy and National Security

Abstract:D6753 This study draws the connections from globalization to the U.S. Navy. "Globalization" is the description these days of the world system and its process of evolution, taking account of the attacks on 9/11/2001. The study draws attention to the gap between the core countries involved in globalization (a core that may expand) and those countries that are having difficulty integrating into the globalization system. The gap is particularly acute in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. The U.S. Navy plays an important role in joint forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, and many of its improvements are appropriate to possible conflicts there. Its second role is contributing to stability in East Asia, and its tertiary role is visiting and exercising with allied navies. It is the best and biggest ocean-going navy in the world, and will remain so for the indefinite future. Altogether, though, these circumstances provide little guidance for the size and configuration of the U.S. Navy.