Q&A · 53:46-55:35

Reading on military force as diplomatic pressure

Recommended books on coercive diplomacy are paired with a caution about what airpower can and cannot achieve.

Question

Which books examine the threat or use of military force as a diplomatic tool?

Short answer

Start with Wesley Clark's Waging Modern War and Richard Holbrooke's To End a War, while keeping in mind that coercive force has real limits and uncertain effects.

Notes

Wesley Clark's Waging Modern War and Richard Holbrooke's To End a War examine force used to bring opponents to negotiation. Read together, they show the military and diplomatic sides of coercion in Bosnia and Kosovo. Air attack did not damage opposing forces as completely as public accounts sometimes implied. Modern weapons can be extremely effective while still falling short of manufacturers' claims, so political leaders must judge whether violence is likely to change an opponent's calculations.