Maritime security
Exploring the maritime domain
The Maritime Security Research Group draws together scholars from diverse disciplines who are interested in security within the maritime domain. We take a broad approach to maritime security, one which encompasses not only traditional hard security concerns but also human security, maritime crime and the ‘blue economy’.
The group has expertise in international law, history, strategy, naval affairs and a range of Indo-Pacific regional perspectives. Its current focuses include strategic competition, the South China Sea disputes, non-traditional security threats and wider issues of sea power and lawfare. The group combines academic staff, postgraduate researchers and visiting fellows, and it works with external collaborators from across academic, government and policy sectors.
The Maritime Security Research Group is led by Professor Douglas Guilfoyle.
Research themes
Strategic competition in the maritime domain
Our research examines contested claims and how states seek to consolidate them and the dynamics of maritime conflict between rival powers, especially in the South China Sea.
Sea power in the modern age
Our research theme investigates the role of sea power in relation to technological change, diplomacy and international law.
Transnational maritime crime and non-traditional security threats
Moral responsibility and formal organisations explores the duties of states, multinational corporations, international financial institutions and intergovernmental organisations within the context of environmental harm, human rights, financial crises, genocide prevention and foreign aid.
The rules-based maritime order
The rules-based maritime order examines the role of international law and international legal argument in ocean governance and conflict.
Explore
Publications
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Strategy and Law in the South China Sea Disputes – Douglas Guilfoyle
China and International Theory: The Balance of Relationships – Pichamon Yeophantong
Somali Pirate Skiff – Douglas Guilfoyle (in International Law’s Object)
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident - 1964 – Douglas Guilfoyle (in The Use of Force in International Law)
Australia’s Maritime Strategy – Shirley Scott (in Naval Powers in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific)
Maritime Security – Douglas Guilfoyle (in Risk and the Regulation of Uncertainty in International Law)
Occasional Paper Series No.7 - DDG in Vietnam and Lessons for the Royal Australian Navy – Edited by Rita Parker, Authors: Rear Admiral David Campbell (Retd), Captain David Cotsell RAN (Retd), Warrant Officer Peter Eveille RAN (Retd), Rear Admiral Peter Purcell AO RAN (Retd), Vice Admiral David Shackleton AO RAN (Retd), Vice Admiral Rob Walls AO RAN (Retd)
Occasional Paper Series No.5 - The Raids Across the Malacca and Singapore Straits during Confrontation 1963-66 – Andrew Ross
China’s Naval Modernisation and US Strategic Rebalancing: Implications for Stability in the South China Sea – Carl Thayer (in The South China Sea – A Crucible of Regional Cooperation or Conflict-making Sovereignty Claims?)
