Politics and Policy in the Crucible of Interstate Coercion

<p>Coercion remains a significant element of US foreign policy despite a mixed record of success and persistent questions about how the US can apply it to solve contemporary problems. Policymakers are drawn to coercion the threat or actual use of force to influence an adversary's behavior primarily because it offers hope of achieving aims at lower costs than imposing solutions unilaterally by brute force. Coercion's endurance in war and close link to politics is prominent in Clausewitz's dual dictums that war is thus an act of force to compel the enemy to do our will and that war is merely the continuation of policy by other means. Despite the close association of war coercion and politics however the study of coercion has traditionally treated states as unitary actors largely disregarding domestic political considerations. This legacy undermines both policy making and analysis of coercion today. To gain greater insight into leaders' decisions it is critical to understand how leaders respond to domestic and international pressures as they choose strategies in coercion. Interstate coercion can be better explained by integrating leaders' efforts to manage both political risks associated with the desire to retain political authority and policy risks associated with the successful implementation of the coercive strategy to achieve international goals.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>