The sea and its strategy
by Lars Wedin
“The sea is our future”
The sea shapes the climate and is a source of essential resources such as energy and raw materials. Safe maritime transport is essential for the economy. But the sea is both an opportunity and a danger. It carries enormous natural forces and is at the same time characterized by the struggle for resources and influence. Sweden, one of the world's most globalized countries, therefore needs a maritime strategy.
All Baltic Sea countries depend on safe maritime transport to and from the Atlantic and the North Sea. Therefore, our defense should be built on a strong naval strategic foundation.
The Sea and Its Strategy explores the interaction between man and the sea from a physical, biological, economic, legal and strategic perspective. The book does not only present the theory – it also shows how combat at sea takes place and describes how a maritime and naval strategy can be designed.
In her foreword, Vice Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces' Operations Command, writes:
The book is not just a theoretical account but also a contribution to a larger conversation: about leadership, the role of technology in modern naval combat, and the necessity to reclaim a maritime strategic culture in Sweden. In a time of rapid technological change, increased security requirements, and global uncertainty, we need to think new things – but also remember what we once knew.
The importance of the ocean is not a special interest. It is a national interest. And it is hoped that this book will help more people see, understand and engage in the issues that concern our future, both civilian and military.
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LARS WEDIN is a retired commander and has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the Swedish National Defense University. He has written a long series of books on naval and military strategy. His Marianne et Athéna. La pensée militaire française du dix-huitième siècle à nos jours (2011) was awarded the French Académie des sciences morales et politiques in 2012. Strategic Thoughts and Other Delusions (2019) was named the book of the quarter by The Naval Review in 2024.
