Jonah Patel
Coercive diplomacy is a common practice in interstate relations, aiming to achieve political objectives and further a state's national interests without engaging in warfare. It involves the use of threats and limited force to coerce an adversary to stop or undo an action. Coercive diplomacy is a challenging strategy for policymakers to implement effectively, as it requires a delicate balance between deterrence and compellence, accurate intelligence, and the ability to sustain political support over time. While it offers an alternative to military action, the risk of escalation and the difficulty of judging success make it a complex tool in the diplomatic arsenal.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Nature | A common practice of conducting inter-state relations |
| Achieving political objectives and fostering a state's national interest | |
| Does not involve brute force | |
| Does not wage a war | |
| Involves the threat of force | |
| Requires accurate information on an opponent's vulnerabilities | |
| Requires economic and political analyses of an opponent's likely reactions to various levels and types of military force | |
| Effectiveness | Robert Art's research on the applications of coercive diplomacy by US policymakers over 12 years showed that coercive diplomacy "fails more often than it succeeds" |
| Art noted that the study's finding was consistent with the findings of other research in the field | |
| Challenges | It is difficult to maintain political support for coercive diplomacy over long periods of time |
| It is difficult to judge success and to decide what level of force should be used | |
| It is challenging to manage when employed by international organizations such as NATO or the United Nations | |
| Military objectives might not achieve the desired diplomatic or political objectives | |
| Compellence is much more difficult than deterrence | |
| Requires setting up a system of rewards and punishments | |
| Requires setting up a system of risks for the continuance of undesirable behavior |
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What You'll Learn
Coercive diplomacy is a viable means to achieve political objectives
Coercive diplomacy is a viable means of achieving political objectives without resorting to war. It involves the use of threats and limited force to coerce an adversary to stop or undo an action. The threat must be credible and potent enough to make the opponent comply. For instance, a state can threaten political consequences, such as expulsion from an international organization, or economic sanctions.
Coercive diplomacy has been a popular tool for US policymakers since the 1950s. However, its effectiveness is debated. Robert Art's research on US applications of coercive diplomacy found that it only succeeded in meeting its policy objective 20% of the time. Art notes that political objectives often change during coercive diplomatic actions, and it is challenging to define clear policy success. Additionally, it is difficult to maintain political support for coercive diplomacy over long periods, especially in multinational efforts.
Despite these challenges, coercive diplomacy can be a valuable instrument to obtain foreign policy objectives under specific circumstances. Kanter emphasizes that policymakers should not be afraid to consider coercive diplomacy to address daunting foreign policy challenges, such as international humanitarian crises or human rights abuses. It is essential to be aware of the limits of this practice and adhere to strict principles of crisis management to avoid escalating the situation.
Furthermore, there are different types of coercion measures and strategies. Deterrence sets up clear "red lines" and is generally easier to implement than compellence, which requires a system of rewards and punishments to encourage or discourage certain behaviors. The denial strategy in coercive diplomacy aims to prevent the target from having any options, ensuring both resistance and compliance costs. Meanwhile, the punishment strategy implies that the target still has choices and may avoid bearing compliance costs.
In conclusion, coercive diplomacy is a complex and challenging tool for policymakers, but it can be a viable means to achieve political objectives when used intelligently and with a thorough understanding of its limitations.
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Coercive diplomacy is a common practice in inter-state relations
Coercive diplomacy has been a popular tool for US policymakers since the 1950s, with applications in Somalia, Kosovo, and negotiations with North Korea. However, its effectiveness is debated. Robert Art's research suggests that coercive diplomacy fails more often than it succeeds, with an estimated 20% success rate in meeting policy objectives. This is due to the dynamic nature of political objectives and the challenge of defining clear success metrics.
One of the challenges of coercive diplomacy is distinguishing it from brute force. While brute force and coercive diplomacy are different, pushing the boundaries of coercion can lead to war. Policymakers must carefully navigate this distinction during the decision-making process, considering the limits of coercive diplomacy and adhering to crisis management principles.
Additionally, coercive diplomacy is difficult to sustain over extended periods, especially in multinational efforts. Compellence, or trying to compel an adversary to act, is more challenging than deterrence, which sets clear "red lines." Policymakers must also grapple with the challenge of maintaining political support for coercive diplomacy domestically and internationally.
In conclusion, coercive diplomacy is a complex and intriguing practice in inter-state relations. While it offers an alternative to military action, its success is contingent upon a nuanced understanding of the adversary, accurate intelligence, and careful consideration of the limits of coercion.
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Coercion measures: deterrence and compellence
Coercion measures can be divided into two types: deterrence and compellence. Deterrence involves threatening an adversary to prevent them from taking a particular action out of fear of the consequences. This is a passive strategy, where punishment is imposed if the adversary acts. The punishment can be in the form of brute force, which involves the use of military force or land power to repel, expel, penetrate, occupy, seize, or disable the adversary.
Compellence, on the other hand, is an active strategy that involves threatening an adversary to make them do something. It involves manipulating the costs and benefits of certain actions to change the adversary's behaviour. The punishment is usually imposed until the adversary acts, and it can include strategies to punish the adversary, raise the risk for them, or deny them the achievement of their objectives. Compellence can be seen as a "carrot and stick" approach, where motivation and threats are used to induce the adversary to comply.
The success of compellence depends on the credibility and cost of the threat. If the threat is not credible, it may fail to be effective and may damage the reputation of the coercing state. Compellence is also harder to implement successfully than deterrence and may not always be successful, even for powerful actors.
Both deterrence and compellence rely on the cooperation of the party receiving the threat. They are forms of violent communication about intentions and commitments, and the use of coercion can push the limits that may lead to war.
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Coercive diplomacy is difficult to manage and sustain
Coercive diplomacy is a strategy employed by states to achieve political objectives and foster national interests without resorting to war. It involves issuing specific demands backed by credible threats of punishment for non-compliance, such as economic sanctions or the limited use of military force. While it has become a popular tool for policymakers, coercive diplomacy is challenging to manage and sustain for several reasons.
One of the primary difficulties in managing coercive diplomacy is distinguishing between coercion and brute force. Policymakers must navigate a fine line to avoid escalating coercion into full-scale war. This challenge is exacerbated by the lack of consensus on whether these concepts should be distinguished or interpreted as semantically similar.
Compellence, a type of coercion that involves compelling an adversary to take certain actions, is particularly difficult to execute. It requires policymakers to establish a system of rewards and punishments, carefully calibrating the level of force used. This is in contrast to deterrence, which sets clear "red lines" that must not be crossed. Managing the use of force is intricate, as too much force may lead to war, while too little may render the coercion ineffective.
Coercive diplomacy is also challenging to sustain over extended periods, especially when undertaken by international organizations or as part of a multinational effort. Maintaining political support for coercive measures can be difficult, and the success of such initiatives can be hard to judge. Military objectives achieved through coercive diplomacy may not always translate into the desired political actions by the adversary.
Furthermore, coercive diplomacy demands accurate intelligence and comprehensive analyses of an opponent's vulnerabilities, as well as their likely reactions to various levels and types of force. Policymakers must consider the threshold of force that distinguishes coercive diplomacy from limited war or full-scale combat. The dynamic nature of political objectives and the involvement of multiple actors with differing interests can further complicate the management and sustainability of coercive diplomacy.
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Coercive diplomacy is intelligence-intensive
Coercive diplomacy is a common practice in conducting inter-state relations, achieving political objectives and fostering a state's national interest without waging a war. It is a difficult tool for policymakers to wield effectively, as it is hard to maintain political support and judge success. Coercive diplomacy is intelligence-intensive and requires accurate information on an opponent's vulnerabilities, as well as economic and political analyses of their likely reactions to various levels and types of military force.
To understand why coercive diplomacy is intelligence-intensive, it is important to grasp the challenges that come with this form of diplomacy. Firstly, policymakers must navigate the fine line between compellence and deterrence. Compellence, which involves trying to compel an adversary to take certain actions, is more complex than deterrence, which sets up clear "red lines". Policymakers must carefully craft a system of rewards and punishments to encourage or discourage specific behaviours.
The limited use of force in coercive diplomacy further complicates matters. The challenge is to use just enough force to threaten or exert pressure without crossing the threshold into limited war or full-scale combat. This requires a deep understanding of an opponent's vulnerabilities and the potential effectiveness of different levels of force. For instance, economic sanctions, such as an embargo or the suspension of economic agreements, may be employed as a coercive tool.
Additionally, the dynamic nature of political objectives during coercive diplomatic actions adds another layer of complexity. Policymakers must be agile and adaptable, ensuring that their strategies remain relevant and effective even as goals evolve. This underscores the need for robust intelligence and analytical capabilities to monitor and assess shifting political landscapes.
In conclusion, coercive diplomacy is intelligence-intensive due to the intricate balance of threats, incentives, and limited force required to achieve political objectives without escalating into military conflict. Success hinges on a comprehensive understanding of an opponent's vulnerabilities and the potential consequences of various diplomatic and military actions.
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Frequently asked questions
Coercive diplomacy is a practice of conducting inter-state relations, which involves achieving political objectives and fostering a state's national interest without waging a war. It involves the use of force or the threat of force to make an enemy stop or undo an action.
Coercive diplomacy is difficult to manage and sustain over long periods, especially in the case of multinational efforts. It is challenging to judge success and to decide what level of force should be used. It is also difficult to maintain political support for coercive diplomacy.
The two types of coercion measures are deterrence and compellence. Deterrence sets up clear "red lines", while compellence involves setting up a system of rewards and punishments to impose a risk for the continuance of undesirable behavior.
