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Seablindness: How Political Neglect Is Choking American Seapower and What to Do about It, by Seth Cropsey. New York: Encounter Books, 2017. 408 pages. $27.99.
In Seablindness, Seth Cropsey delivers a comprehensive examination of sea power and makes a compelling argument for the modernization and recapitalization of the U.S. Navy. To do so he analyzes the future security environment, the projected use and requirements of the Navy, and the current state of readiness within the sea services. Seablindness serves as a cautionary reminder to U.S. leadership and the American people regarding the mandate of sea power for maritime states. Cropsey provides short historical examples of the actions and decisions that led to the diminution of the power and influence of earlier powerful maritime states and the international and domestic consequences. These analogies provoke reflection on the current state of U.S. sea power.
Cropsey defines seablindness as a mindset under which great maritime powers "forget, neglect" or are "distracted" from the oceanic foundation of their commerce and security. It manifests its effects in national security policy and defense resource-allocation decisions that incrementally weaken the ability of the state to employ sea power, including its navy, in the promotion, protection, and defense of state interests. These policy and budget actions rarely are intended to diminish the...