James Cable

Sir James Eric Sydney Cable (15 November 1920 – 27 September 2001) was a British diplomat and naval strategic thinker. As an author, he became well known for a series of his works published between 1971 and 1994 about gunboat diplomacy. The Telegraph described him as "one of the most influential naval strategic thinkers of the last half-century". During the Second World War he served as an officer in the British Army.

Career Born in November 1920, Cable was the son of a member of the Consular Service. and rose to the rank of major before joining the Diplomatic Service in 1947, although he did not relinquish his army commission until 28 October 1953, when he was granted the honorary rank of major.

His position took him to Indonesia during the Independence War. He subsequently served in the Middle-East and as head of the Foreign Office South-East Asia Department for two years. In late 1960s, he published his maiden work, British foreign policy and international relations. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 28 May 1976.

He continued to write after quitting the FCO, and published several works, including The Political Influence of Naval Force in History (1998), The Royal Navy and the Siege of Bilbao (1979), Britain's Naval Future (1983), Diplomacy at Sea (1985) and Navies in Violent Peace (1989). Cable and his wife, Viveca had a son, Charles. He divided the examples of gunboat diplomacy into four categories: definitive, purposeful, catalytic and expressive. All of them are tools of diplomacy. Cable start a revival of naval strategic thought, and had a great influence on Post-Cold War naval thinking, especially in United Kingdom and United States.