Coercive military strategy / Stephen J. Cimbala.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cimbala, Stephen J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Strategy.

United States--Military policy--Case studies.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, c1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Coercion is persuasion supported by the threat or use of force. Just as warfare is often "diplomacy carried out by other means," coercion--the threat of combat or the threat of an escalation in the intensity of combat--is a more subtle method of dispute that shades the spectrum between diplomacy and warfare. Understanding of coercive military strategy is a prerequisite to the successful making of either policy or war. In "Coercive Military Strategy, " Stephen J. Cimbala shows that coercive military strategy is a necessary part of any diplomatic-strategic recipe for success. Few wars are total wars, fought to annihilation, and military power is inherently political, employed for political purpose, in order to advance the public agenda of a state, so in any war there comes a time when a diplomatic resolution may be possible. To that end, coercive strategy should be flexible, for there are as many variations to it as there are variations in wars and warfare. Cimbala observes several cases of applying coercive strategy in the twentieth century: the U.S. strategy of limited war during the Cold War; the Cuban Missile Crisis, in which both the United States and the Soviet Union applied coercive strategy; Desert Storm, in which the Coalition Forces could practice coercion without restraint; and the Vietnam War, in which U.S. coercive strategy was ultimately a failure. Additionally, Cimbala examines coercion and the theory of collective security, which implies a willingness on the part of individual states, such as the NATO nations, to combine against any aspiring aggressor. With his examples, and the arguments they illustrate, Cimbala shows that although coercive strategy is a remedy for neither the ailments of U.S. national security nor world conflict, it will become more important in peace, crisis, and even war in the next century, when winning with the minimum of force or without force will become more important than winning by means of maximum firepower.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Tables

Acknowledgments

Military Strategy and Coercion

The Cold War and U.S. Limited War Strategy

Coercive Strategy in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Coercive Military Strategy and Desert Storm

Vietnam and Coercive Strategy

Collective Security and Coercion

Operations "Not War" and Coercive Military Strategy

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 207-218) and index.

ISBN:

1-60344-704-0

0-585-17418-0

OCLC:

49793384