The Art of Coercion
The Art of Coercion presents a fresh explanation for the success—and failure—of coercive demands in international politics.Strong states are surprisingly bad at coercion. History shows they prevail only a third of the time. Reid B. C. Pauly argues that coercion often fails because targets fear punis...
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| Format: | Online |
| Sprog: | engelsk |
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Cornell University Press
2026
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| Online adgang: | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171460 |
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| _version_ | 1869529040599121920 |
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| author | Pauly, Reid B. C. |
| author_browse | Pauly, Reid B. C. |
| author_facet | Pauly, Reid B. C. |
| author_sort | Pauly, Reid B. C. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | The Art of Coercion presents a fresh explanation for the success—and failure—of coercive demands in international politics.Strong states are surprisingly bad at coercion. History shows they prevail only a third of the time. Reid B. C. Pauly argues that coercion often fails because targets fear punishment even if they comply. In this "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario, targets have little reason to obey. Pauly illustrates this logic in nuclear counterproliferation efforts with South Africa, Iraq, Libya, and Iran. He shows that coercers face an "assurance dilemma": When threats are more credible, assurances not to punish are less so. But without credible assurances, targets may defy threats, bracing for seemingly inevitable punishment. For coercion to work, as such, coercers must not only make targets believe that they will be punished if they do not comply, but also that they will not be if they do. Packed with insights for any foreign policy challenge involving coercive strategies, The Art of Coercion crucially corrects assumptions that tougher threats alone achieve results. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-171460 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Cornell University Press |
| publisherStr | Cornell University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1714602026-02-12T10:30:20Z The Art of Coercion Pauly, Reid B. C. Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPS International relations::JPSD Diplomacy The Art of Coercion presents a fresh explanation for the success—and failure—of coercive demands in international politics.Strong states are surprisingly bad at coercion. History shows they prevail only a third of the time. Reid B. C. Pauly argues that coercion often fails because targets fear punishment even if they comply. In this "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario, targets have little reason to obey. Pauly illustrates this logic in nuclear counterproliferation efforts with South Africa, Iraq, Libya, and Iran. He shows that coercers face an "assurance dilemma": When threats are more credible, assurances not to punish are less so. But without credible assurances, targets may defy threats, bracing for seemingly inevitable punishment. For coercion to work, as such, coercers must not only make targets believe that they will be punished if they do not comply, but also that they will not be if they do. Packed with insights for any foreign policy challenge involving coercive strategies, The Art of Coercion crucially corrects assumptions that tougher threats alone achieve results. 2026-02-12T10:30:18Z 2026-02-12T10:30:18Z 2025 book 9781501782701 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171460 eng Cornell University Press 10.1353/book.131106 10.1353/book.131106 05937e7b-c222-4680-9580-c09c5ce7a11e 9781501782701 252 open access |
| spellingShingle | Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPS International relations::JPSD Diplomacy Pauly, Reid B. C. The Art of Coercion |
| title | The Art of Coercion |
| title_full | The Art of Coercion |
| title_fullStr | The Art of Coercion |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Art of Coercion |
| title_short | The Art of Coercion |
| title_sort | art of coercion |
| topic | Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPS International relations::JPSD Diplomacy |
| topic_facet | Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JP Politics and government::JPS International relations::JPSD Diplomacy |
| url | https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/171460 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT paulyreidbc theartofcoercion AT paulyreidbc artofcoercion |