Deconstructing the Seapower State

: Britain, America and Defence Unification

Abstract

This research examines the relationship between defence unification and the development of strategic theory between 1945 and 1964. Defence unification was one of, if not the defining change in British and American defence and government. Only by studying unification as a fundamental change can its integral relationship to the ongoing development of strategic thought and theory be understood. This thesis is situated at the interface of organisational development, intellectual-educational process, political-cultural-military history, strategic studies and civil-military relations.

This thesis explores the fundamental structural change in British and American defence following the abolition of the Admiralty and Department of the Navy. It provides a new history of British and American defence unification. It challenges current perspectives on freestanding service ministries’ function by reopening debates such as on the so-called ‘British Way of Warfare’ and ‘Continental Commitment.’ It contributes to this debate by demonstrating the impact of unification and ‘jointness’ on the broader British and American national understanding of naval power and maritime strategy and its relationship with high policy decision-making and defence strategy, of which all parts of defence and national security were impacted such as intelligence, wargaming, nuclear weapons policy through to new technology and issues such as space policy where unification often saw the rejection of strategic experience.

This research is a contribution to ongoing theoretical debates about maritime strategy, sea and naval power, grand and national strategy based on reconsidering outdated narratives of defence unification and reopening debates that contrast the significance of continental and maritime strategies and its interface with political power, decision making and ultimately the ‘battle’ for a national strategy.

Date of Award	1 Feb 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	Andrew Lambert (Supervisor)