Balancing Strategy

What is the relationship between seapower law and strategy? Anna Brinkman uses in-depth analysis of cases brought before the Court of Prize Appeal during the Seven Years'' War to explore how Britain worked to shape maritime international law to its strategic advantage. Within the court government ofcials and naval and legal minds came together to shape legal decisions from the perspectives of both legal philosophy and maritime strategic aims. As a result neutrality and the negotiation of rights became critical to maritime warfare. Balancing Strategy unpicks a complex web of competing priorities: deals struck with the Dutch Republic and Spain; imperial rivalry; mercantilism; colonial trade; and the relationships between metropoles and colonies trade and the navy. Ultimately influencing and shaping international law of the sea allows a nation to create the norms and rules that constrain or enable the use of seapower during war.