Maritime security in a multipolar world

Clarke compares the emerging international system with the period before the First World War and the interwar years, when smaller powers could develop narrow strengths that complicated stronger states' plans. Mercogliano adds a comparison with the balance of power after the Congress of Vienna. Their historical parallels question the expectation of lasting post-Cold War unipolarity. The Barbary conflicts provide another comparison: military coercion was accompanied by payments and negotiation. Mercogliano proposes a negotiated financial approach to the Houthi problem, while Clarke raises support for their opponents as another possible approach. Both are policy arguments made during the interview, whose discussion of insurance and Suez revenue shows why tactical missile defence alone had not restored commercial traffic.