Question

Alfred Thayer Mahan was a historian who wrote a massively influential book which stated that a country that wished to become a dominant world power needed to do the following:

• A. Attempt to create alliances with the strongest nation in order to create a favorable chance for victory should war come.
• B. Stay focused on economic measures and avoid foreign affairs.
• C. Use war as a first policy and diplomacy as a last resort.
• D. Build up a large and powerful navy.
• E. Make alliances with local peoples to in order to subdue their neighbors and conquer large territories.

Answer 1

The correct option is D Build up a large and powerful navy.

His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide impact; it was most famously presented in The Influence of Sea Power Upon History.The concept had an enormous influence in shaping the strategic thought of navies across the world, especially those of the United States, Germany, Japan and Britain, ultimately causing a European naval arms race in the 1890s.