Commerce-war rules favor the stronger maritime power

The U-boat campaign is less comprehensive than blockade and creates additional diplomatic costs because it destroys ships and angers neutral interests. Guerre de course is often described as the weaker power's strategy, yet it can also be a major pillar of a stronger power's war plan. A dominant navy can apply economic pressure through accepted searches, courts, purchases, and confiscations that appear more legalistic than unrestricted destruction. The rules themselves tend to favor established maritime powers because those states possess the Admiralty courts, legal resources, and accumulated precedents that shape the system.