TY - JOUR

T1 - Pushing the Limits of Military Coercion Theory

AU - Jakobsen, Peter Viggo

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - The centrality of military coercion in contemporary Western crisis andconflict management constitutes a major policy problem because theUnited States and its allies are poor at translating their overwhelmingmilitary superiority into adversary compliance. The standard explanationprovided by coercion theorists is that coercion is hard and thatmiscalculation, misperception, or practical problems can defeat even aperfectly executed strategy. What they ignore is that the problem alsostems from the limits of coercion theory, which has left us with anunnecessarily poor understanding of how military coercion works andhow the practical problems involved could be addressed. Our understandingof military coercion would be increased markedly if only coerciontheorists would make a greater efforts to do three things, namely(1) provide clear operational definitions of key concepts and variables,(2) engage in systematic and rigorous empirical analysis of generallyaccepted propositions, and (3) seek to provide solutions to the manypolicy problems that coercion theorists have identified to date. Thesesimple steps would enhance the degree of cumulativity within the field,provide the principal theoretical propositions with a firmer empiricalfoundation and make military coercion theory more useful for policymakers.

AB - The centrality of military coercion in contemporary Western crisis andconflict management constitutes a major policy problem because theUnited States and its allies are poor at translating their overwhelmingmilitary superiority into adversary compliance. The standard explanationprovided by coercion theorists is that coercion is hard and thatmiscalculation, misperception, or practical problems can defeat even aperfectly executed strategy. What they ignore is that the problem alsostems from the limits of coercion theory, which has left us with anunnecessarily poor understanding of how military coercion works andhow the practical problems involved could be addressed. Our understandingof military coercion would be increased markedly if only coerciontheorists would make a greater efforts to do three things, namely(1) provide clear operational definitions of key concepts and variables,(2) engage in systematic and rigorous empirical analysis of generallyaccepted propositions, and (3) seek to provide solutions to the manypolicy problems that coercion theorists have identified to date. Thesesimple steps would enhance the degree of cumulativity within the field,provide the principal theoretical propositions with a firmer empiricalfoundation and make military coercion theory more useful for policymakers.

U2 - 10.1111/j.1528-3585.2011.00425.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1528-3585.2011.00425.x

M3 - Journal article

VL - 12

SP - 153

EP - 170

JO - International Studies Perspectives

JF - International Studies Perspectives

SN - 1528-3577

IS - 2

ER -