Mahan's Christian and imperial argument for organized force

Mahan frames his naval appeal through an expected contest between Western civilization and the civilizations he identifies with China, India, and Japan. He describes Britain's rule in India as part of a Christian civilizing mission and argues that organized force must preserve Western staying power. He expects material advantages to be adopted more readily than Christian spiritual ideas. In his argument, the resulting interval leaves societies with different standards liable to conflict and requires force to remain available. These religious and imperial assumptions supply the contemporary justification he attaches to military power.