Global Maritime Chokepoints and Strategic Canals Control, Conflict, and the Future of Sea Power

Abstract

This is important research covering the strategic importance of maritime choke points and canals in the world and how they affect modern day sea power because of interdisciplinary interplay of power and struggle, and geopolitical rivalry. It also claims that narrow maritime passages, such as the Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca, Suez Canal and Panama Canal are vulnerable physically due to concentrating a large portion of global trade and energy flows therein but are vulnerable to disruption due to their structural dependence. The study incorporates both a comparative case and qualitative-dominant mixed-methods methodology that involves integration of geo- spatial interpretation of data on dependency, strategic leverage and disruption risk using trade flows. The results show the underlying conflict of efficiency and resilience with the highly optimized maritime networks that increase the fragility of the system. The research paper finds that choke points will continue to be the focus of sea power in the future with the geopolitical competition, change in technology and changing security threats likely to increase rather than reduce their strategic value.