Air Power as a Coercive Instrument

Coercion--the use of threatened force to induce an adversary to change its behavior--is a critical function of the U.S. military. U.S. forces have recently fought in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, and the Horn of Africa to compel recalcitrant regimes and warlords to stop repression, abandon weapons...

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Hlavní autoři: Byman, Daniel, McGinn, John G., Crane, Keith, Jones, Seth G., Lal, Rollie
Médium: Online
Jazyk:angličtina
Vydáno: RAND Corporation 2023
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On-line přístup:ONIX_20231005_9780833048288_601
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author Byman, Daniel
McGinn, John G.
Crane, Keith
Jones, Seth G.
Lal, Rollie
author_browse Byman, Daniel
Crane, Keith
Jones, Seth G.
Lal, Rollie
McGinn, John G.
author_facet Byman, Daniel
McGinn, John G.
Crane, Keith
Jones, Seth G.
Lal, Rollie
author_sort Byman, Daniel
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Coercion--the use of threatened force to induce an adversary to change its behavior--is a critical function of the U.S. military. U.S. forces have recently fought in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, and the Horn of Africa to compel recalcitrant regimes and warlords to stop repression, abandon weapons programs, permit humanitarian relief, and otherwise modify their actions. Yet despite its overwhelming military might, the United States often fails to coerce successfully. This report examines the phenomenon of coercion and how air power can contribute to its success. Three factors increase the likelihood of successful coercion: (1) the coercer's ability to raise the costs it imposes while denying the adversary the chance to respond (escalation dominance); (2) an ability to block an adversary's military strategy for victory; and (3) an ability to magnify third-party threats, such as internal instability or the danger posed by another enemy. Domestic political concerns (such as casualty sensitivity) and coalition dynamics often constrain coercive operations and impair the achievement of these conditions. Air power can deliver potent and credible threats that foster the above factors while neutralizing adversary countercoercive moves. When the favorable factors are absent, however, air power--or any other military instrument--will probably fail to coerce. Policymakers' use of coercive air power under inauspicious conditions diminishes the chances of using it elsewhere when the prospects of success would be greater.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1148272024-03-29T19:30:56Z Air Power as a Coercive Instrument Byman, Daniel McGinn, John G. Crane, Keith Jones, Seth G. Lal, Rollie Political Science thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JW Warfare and defence Coercion--the use of threatened force to induce an adversary to change its behavior--is a critical function of the U.S. military. U.S. forces have recently fought in the Balkans, the Persian Gulf, and the Horn of Africa to compel recalcitrant regimes and warlords to stop repression, abandon weapons programs, permit humanitarian relief, and otherwise modify their actions. Yet despite its overwhelming military might, the United States often fails to coerce successfully. This report examines the phenomenon of coercion and how air power can contribute to its success. Three factors increase the likelihood of successful coercion: (1) the coercer's ability to raise the costs it imposes while denying the adversary the chance to respond (escalation dominance); (2) an ability to block an adversary's military strategy for victory; and (3) an ability to magnify third-party threats, such as internal instability or the danger posed by another enemy. Domestic political concerns (such as casualty sensitivity) and coalition dynamics often constrain coercive operations and impair the achievement of these conditions. Air power can deliver potent and credible threats that foster the above factors while neutralizing adversary countercoercive moves. When the favorable factors are absent, however, air power--or any other military instrument--will probably fail to coerce. Policymakers' use of coercive air power under inauspicious conditions diminishes the chances of using it elsewhere when the prospects of success would be greater. 2023-10-05T10:17:50Z 2023-10-05T10:17:50Z 1999 book ONIX_20231005_9780833048288_601 9780833048288 9780833027436 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/114827 eng image/jpeg n/a https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/MR1061AF RAND Corporation 10.7249/MR1061AF 10.7249/MR1061AF 47ac0b54-b121-491c-a9c8-5ca6776e27cb 9780833048288 9780833027436 open access
spellingShingle Political Science
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JW Warfare and defence
Byman, Daniel
McGinn, John G.
Crane, Keith
Jones, Seth G.
Lal, Rollie
Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title_full Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title_fullStr Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title_full_unstemmed Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title_short Air Power as a Coercive Instrument
title_sort air power as a coercive instrument
topic Political Science
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JW Warfare and defence
topic_facet Political Science
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JW Warfare and defence
url ONIX_20231005_9780833048288_601
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