The Problem of Asia: Its Effect upon International Politics

by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Overview

The Problem of Asia, the celebrated American naval historian and strategist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, analyzes the geopolitical structure of world politics at the dawn of the twentieth century. Mahan wrote his book at a time when the United States was emerging as a world power, having recently acquired overseas territories as a result of its victory in the Spanish-American War. It was a call to America and its leaders to break with the intellectual tradition of Washington's Farewell Address and to recognize that U.S. security was tied to the balance of power in Asia as well as Europe.

For Mahan, the immediate "problem of Asia" was the threat of Russian expansion into Central Europe, Central Asia, East Asia,,and the Middle-East/Persian Gulf region. Mahan advocated an alliance consisting of Britain,. Japan, Germany, and the United States to counter the Russian threat. He also discussed the rise of Japan as a world power, the potential for China to emerge as a great power later in the twentieth century, and the increasing importance of the Middle East/Persian Gulf region to the global balance of power. The Problem of Asia contains geopolitical insights and analyses that remain relevant today. As recent events have reminded us, the world of the twenty-first century is still composed of nation-states and non-state actors that vigorously and sometimes brutally pursue their goals and self-interests. Mahan's approach in The Problem of Asia to the study and analysis of international politics in an anarchic world provides an important conceptual framework for understanding the fundamentals of global politics.

This edition of Mahan's classic work includes a lengthy introduction by Francis P. Sempa that analyzes the book in the context of Mahan's life and other writings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765805249
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	08/31/2003
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	186
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was a career officer in the United States Navy, attaining the rank of admiral on the retired list. He was the author of twenty books and 137 articles, mostly dealing with naval history and strategy and international relations.

Francis P. Sempa is the author of Geopolitics: From the Cold War to the 21st Century, and has written introductions to Mahan's The Problem of Asia and The Interest of America in International Conditions and Bullitt's The Great Globe Itself, all available from Transaction. He is an assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and an adjunct professor of political science at Wilkes University.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART I: The Problem of Asia (from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine) Chapter 1 (originally published March 1900) Chapter 2 (originally published April 1900) Chapter 3 (originally published May 1900) PART II: The Effect of Asiatic Conditions upon World Policies (from North American Review) Chapter 4 (originally published November 1900) PART III: The Merits of the Transvaal Dispute (from North American Review) Chapter 5 (originally published March 1900)