Deterrence and Denial

S. C. M. Paine taught in the Strategy & Policy Department of the U.S. Naval War College from 2000 to 2025. Professor Paine’s publications include five naval books coedited with Bruce A. Elleman on blockades, commerce raiding, coalitions, expeditionary warfare, and nonmilitary uses of navies. Other publications include The Japanese Empire and The Wars for Asia, 1911–1949. Paine holds a PhD in Russian and Chinese history from Columbia University. She lives in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

"This book on “fleet in being” is one we have needed for a long time. Unlike armies and air forces, even weaker navies can influence opponents strategically, shaping their thinking to avoid war, or operationally, by preventing combat at sea from taking place. Strategists need to know what fleet in being means, and these chapters offer crucial case studies for them. Historians will appreciate the unique compilation of well-researched and consequential examples in Deterrence and Denial, drawn from over ten nations and across five centuries." —Randy Papadopoulos, PhD, strategist, Washington, DC"A brilliant and sweeping historical analysis of a topic of great relevance to our increasingly complex and dangerous world. It is worthy of study by all those who seek to understand the value of maritime forces and their fleets in being." —Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harley, USN (Ret.), former president of the U.S. Naval War College“Professor Paine has produced a real historical tour de force with Deterrence and Denial. Ranging from the wooden-sided fleets of the 17th century to the space-assisted ones of today, the book demonstrates convincingly that how one creates and maintains one’s fleets in being can play a decisive role in shaping the behavior of adversaries. For those interested in the navies of the United States and China today, it should be mandatory reading.”—Professor Phillips O'Brien, University of St. Andrews