The Art of Military Coercion: Why the West's Military Superiority Scarcely MattersSince the end of the Cold War, liberal democracies have conducted military interventions on numerous occasions, and with mixed results. Why is it that these results have so often been poor? The main argument of this study is that to be succesful, force must be used decisively. This requires the right balance between means and ends, based on an understanding of the dynamics of coercion. But even if this is the case, asymmetrical reactions from a weak opponent could easily offset Western military might. This is why, this book argues, the West's military superiority scarcely matters. Rob de Wijk is director of the Clingendael Centre for Strategic Studies in The Netherlands. He is also professor in the field of International Relations at the Royal Netherlands Military Academy, and professor of Strategic Studies at Leiden University. |
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The art of military coercion: why the west's military superiority scarcely ... Rob de Wijk No preview available - 2014 |
The Art of Military Coercion: Why the West's Military Superiority Scarcely ... Rob de Wijk No preview available - 2014 |
Common terms and phrases
accept achieve action aimed air power Allied American applied areas argued armed forces Army attack battle become bombings campaign carried cause civilization clear coalition coercion coercive combat command concept Consequently considered conventional countries culture decision defense democratic destroy destruction diplomacy doctrine economic effective especially Europe European example failed fight Finally FOFA foreign Freedom ground groups Gulf human important increase initiative interests interventions Iraq Iraqi Italy killed lead leaders liberal democracies limited maneuver warfare manual March mass means military missiles NATO nuclear objectives operations opponent organizations peace political population President principles reasons regime requires result risks Russian Saddam sanctions Second Soviet Special strategy strike success superiority tactical terrorism terrorists threat tion troops unconventional United University values warfare wars weapons West Western