Military Coercion and U.S. Foreign Policy
This lecture presents research on the concept of military coercion as an instrument of diplomacy, a mechanism short of war used in over 215 cases of shows of forces by the US since World War II. A 2020 study on Military Coercion and US Foreign Policy – the Use of Force Short of War extends the analysis from a 1978 Brookings report – Force Without War by Barry Blechman and Stephen Kaplan. The work in both projects provides the underpinnings for the joint concept for integrated campaigning (JCIC) and the notion of the competition continuum that are reflected in the 2018 National Military Strategy, the joint strategic planning system (JSPS), and will be a part of the forthcoming update to Joint Campaigning and Operations in joint doctrine. The editors from the Stimpson Center of the 2020 study on military coercion will provide an overview of their findings, lessons learned from the case studies, and implications for the ways in which, and the conditions in which the US armed forces can work with economic and diplomatic elements of US power to create effective coercive strategies.
About this Lecture
Lectures of Opportunity offers U.S. Naval War College (NWC) students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to learn more about national and international socio-political subjects that may be of relevance to the NWC community.