The Free Sea: The American Fight for Freedom of Navigation

The Free Sea offers a unique, single-volume analysis of incidents in American history that affected U.S. freedom of navigation at sea. The book spans more than 200 years, beginning in the Colonial era with the Quasi-War with France in 1798 and extending to contemporary Freedom of Navigation operations in the South China Sea. Through wars and numerous crises with North Korea, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Iran, Russia and China, freedom of navigation has been a persistent challenge for the United States, a nation reliant on open seas for economic prosperity, military security and global order. This volume focuses on the struggle to retain freedom of the seas. Challenges to U.S. warships and maritime commerce have pushed, and continue to challenge, the United States to vindicate its rights through diplomatic, legal, and military means, underscoring the need for the strategic resolve in the global maritime commons.

James Kraska is department chairman and Howard S. Levie Chair in the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College. He has taught at Harvard Law School and Duke University, and retired as a commander in the U.S. Navy, where he was oceans law and policy adviser on the Joint Staff. Raul Pedrozo is a visiting fellow in the Stockton Center for the Study of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College, where he was professor of international law. He retired as a captain in the U.S. Navy, where he was the top legal adviser to Navy Special Warfare Command and U.S. Pacific Command.