Mare Imperium: The Evolution of Freedom of the Seas Discourse in U.S. Foreign Policy - An Addendum to Critical Security Studies Literature Connor P. Donahue Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Planning, Governance, and Globalization Yannis A. Stivachtis, Co-chair Timothy W. Luke, Co-chair Paul C. Avey Mauro J. Caraccioli September 21, 2020 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: International Relations, Naval Strategy, Post-Structuralism, South China Sea Copyright 2020, Connor P. Donahue Mare Imperium: The Evolution of Freedom of the Seas Discourse in U.S. Foreign Policy - An Addendum to Critical Security Studies Literature Connor P. Donahue (ABSTRACT) This dissertation conducts a genealogy of freedom of the seas discourse in United States foreign policy in order to problematize the contemporary representation lying at the heart of American political-military strategy in the Western Pacific. This project aims to accomplish two goals. First, this project aims to show that freedom of the seas is not an enduring historical principle consistently championed by the United States, as is often claimed in contemporary governmental publications. Rather, it shows that the current understanding is a recent phenomenon that emerged after the Second World War. By highlighting the contingency of the contemporary understanding of freedom of the seas, this work seeks to show that such discourse is not a necessary foundation on which to place American political-military strategy. The second objective of this genealogical analysis is to show that the contemporary freedom of the seas discourse in U.S. foreign policy is not an altruistic principle championed on behalf of the global community, but rather facilitates American control over the global ocean space. By showing that freedom of the seas is a mechanism of sea control, this work aims to show that in an era of maritime great power competition, strategies predicated upon the discourse are more dangerous than would otherwise appear. Together, this genealogical analysis, and the two goals that are made possible by it, will make a substantive contribution to the critical strategic studies literature, in conjunction with the wider critical security studies literature, by showing that American political-military strategy in the South China Sea can and should be reconceptualized. Mare Imperium: The Evolution of Freedom of the Seas Discourse in U.S. Foreign Policy - An Addendum to Critical Security Studies Literature Connor P. Donahue (GENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACT) Currently, the United States is locked in a fierce competition with China in the South China Sea. The United States believes that Chinese actions in the region, such as claiming large swaths of maritime territory, constructing militarized artificial islands, and deploying weaponry designed to endanger American forces operating in the region, violates the principle of freedom of the seas. The United States asserts that it has consistently championed the principle freedom of the seas because it is the essential foundation of international peace and prosperity. Due to this, the U.S. claims that it will continue to defend the principle of freedom of the seas against Chinese depredations. However, this dissertation argues that the United States’ political-military strategy in the Western Pacific is misrepresenting the concept of freedom of the seas and therefore failing to see the dangers at stake in the regional confrontation. To show this, this work writes a history of how the concept of freedom of the seas has been used in U.S. foreign policy over the course of American history. Such a history shows that the concept of freedom of the seas has not been consistently championed by the United States and is not an altruistic principle defended on behalf of international peace and prosperity. Instead, this project shows that the concept of freedom of the seas is used by the United States to facilitate control over the world’s oceans on behalf of U.S. interests. It is problematic to portray the pursuit of American national interests as a universal altruistic good because it does not leave room open for compromise. In a time where China is rapidly developing their military forces to control sea themselves, basing American political-military strategy on the concept of freedom of the seas is increasingly dangerous. Contents Introduction 1 The South China Sea Dispute at a Glance ...................... 2 Research Questions ................................ 5 Genealogical Method .................................. 6 Situating the Work ................................... 15 International Security .............................. 16 Critical Security Studies ............................. 21 Outline of the Work .................................. 26 1 The Contemporary South China Sea Dispute 33 1.1 The Problem in the South China Sea ...................... 33 1.1.1 Incidents and Operations ........................ 40 1.1.2 A Free and Open Indo-Pacific ...................... 46 1.2 Problematizing the Problem in the South China Sea .............. 49 2 Presenting Mare Imperium 57 2.1 Mahanian Command of the Sea ......................... 59 2.2 Contemporary Command and Control of the Sea ............... 62 2.3 The Exercise of Imperium ............................ 66 2.4 The Mare Imperium Discourse of Freedom of the Seas ............. 69 2.5 Why this matters ................................. 74 I Mare Liberum 78 3 A Pre-Institutionalized Discourse: The Rights of Neutrals 79 3.1 The American Revolution ............................ 87 3.2 Jay’s Treaty and the Quasi War ......................... 96 3.3 The Napoleonic Wars ............................... 102 3.4 The War of 1812 ................................. 114 4 The Institutionalization of ‘Freedom of the Seas’ Discourse 121 4.1 1856 Declaration of Paris Respecting Maritime Law .............. 122 4.2 The American Civil War ............................. 131 4.3 Postbellum .................................... 138 5 Doctrinal Change at the Turn of the Century: 1880-1912 144 5.1 A New Navy ................................... 146 iv 5.1.1 The Introduction of Mahanian Naval Doctrine ............. 148 5.1.2 The Influence of Mahan Upon Sea Power ................ 153 5.2 The Spanish - American War .......................... 157 5.3 The Hague Conference of 1899 and Mahanian Interference .......... 160 5.4 The Rooseveltian Era and the Second Hague Conference ........... 162 5.5 The London Naval Conference of 1909 ..................... 171 6 Woodrow Wilson and The First World War 173 6.1 Neutrality and the British Naval Blockade ................... 174 6.2 The First German U-Boat Campaign ...................... 181 6.3 Wilson’s Naval Buildup ............................. 191 6.4 The Second German U-Boat Campaign ..................... 192 6.5 America Enters the War ............................. 195 6.6 Wilson’s Fourteen Points and the Paris Peace Conference ........... 200 6.7 Wilson and Sea Power .............................. 209 II Mare Imperium 214 7 The Second World War 215 7.1 A Prelude to War ................................. 216 7.2 Territorialized Neutrality: The American Neutrality Zone ........... 223 7.3 Neutrality Without Impartiality: The Undeclared War in the Atlantic .... 232 8 The Cold War - Part I 244 8.1 Limiting the Marginal Sea ............................ 250 8.2 The First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea ................ 257 8.3 The Second UN Conference on the Law of the Sea ............... 265 9 The Cold War - Part II 269 9.1 Forward Defense ................................. 270 9.2 United States Oceans Policy ........................... 273 9.3 The Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea ............... 286 9.3.1 The Caracas Session ........................... 286 9.3.2 The Geneva Session ........................... 289 9.3.3 The New York Sessions ......................... 291 9.4 Carter, Reagan, and the Introduction of Freedom of Navigation Operations . 294 10 Contemporary Discourse 298 10.1 From Forward Defense to Forward Presence .................. 298 10.2 Mare Imperium Continued, the W. Bush Administration ........... 310 10.3 Anti-Access/ Area Denial and Freedom of the Seas .............. 313 10.4 The Trump Administration’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ .......... 317 v 11 Conclusion 320 11.1 De-monumentalizing the Discourse ....................... 321 11.2 Problematizing the Discourse .......................... 327 vi Introduction This work aims to demystify the discourse of freedom of the seas which underpins United States political-military strategy in the contemporary Sino-American South China Sea dis- pute. To accomplish this, a genealogy of freedom of the seas discourse in U.S. foreign policy will be conducted. By conducting a genealogical intellectual history of the American un- derstanding of freedom of the seas, this dissertation seeks to accomplish two goals. First, this project aims to de-monumentalize the discourse by showing that freedom of the seas is not an enduring historical principle consistently championed by the United States, as is often claimed in contemporary governmental publications.1 Rather, it shows that the cur- rent understanding is a recent phenomenon that emerged after the Second World War. By highlighting the contingency of the contemporary understanding of freedom of the seas, this work seeks to show that such discourse is