US Foreign Policy

Project

Use of Force Short of War

Military Coercion and US Foreign Policy

Draws lessons about the use of military force as a coercive tool, using historical and quantitative analysis of U.S. foreign policy in the post-Cold War era (1991-2018)

Project Info

The Short of War project analyzes the ways in which the United States and other countries have used their armed forces as a tool of foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. Specifically, it provides guidance about the ways in which, and the conditions under which, the US armed forces can work in concert with economic and diplomatic elements of US power to create effective coercive strategies.

This project is a follow-up work to the book Force Without War, co-written by Stimson co-Founder Barry Blechman. The research from this project has resulted in into the forthcoming book, Military Coercion and US Foreign Policy: The Use of Force Short of War (Routledge 2020).

Latest

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Use of Force Short of War

Op-Ed ·

A Strategy for Competition

Aug 28, 2020

Op-Ed ·

Fast Deployments Deter Better Than Bases: Stimson

Aug 7, 2020

Impact ·

Examining the U.S. military’s use of force short of war

Jun 25, 2020

Op-Ed ·

America’s role in world affairs may never recover from COVID-19

Jun 17, 2020

Press Release ·

New Book, Dataset Offer Lessons to Policymakers for More Effective US Military Coercion

Jun 15, 2020

Book ·

Military Coercion and US Foreign Policy: The Use of Force Short of War

Jun 15, 2020

Events

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Past

Secret Wars: Insights from the Backstage of Covert Conflict

Apr 29, 2019

Past

US-China Competition “Short of War,” 1991-2018

Mar 12, 2019

Past

Competing with Russia “Short of War”: How the US and NATO have Countered Russian Coercion Panel Discussion

Feb 13, 2019

Past

US Coercive Diplomacy in Iran and Iraq: A Conversation with Ken Pollack

Jan 11, 2019

In the News

Op-Ed ·

A Strategy for Competition

This article was originally published by the Center for a New American Security

Aug 28, 2020

Op-Ed ·

Fast Deployments Deter Better Than Bases: Stimson

This article was originally published in Breaking Defense.

Aug 7, 2020

Op-Ed ·

America’s role in world affairs may never recover from COVID-19

The US will is sure to become a great power amongst many in the years to come post-pandemic

Jun 17, 2020

Op-Ed ·

It’s Time to Rethink NATO’s Deterrent Strategy

NATO should rethink it's deterrence strategy and ensure Russia knows when it crossed a line

Dec 17, 2019

Op-Ed ·

Mattis is poisoning the well on women in combat

Secretary of Defense James Mattis is against women in combat. He made this clear in his 2017 confirmation hearings, in comments given on Tuesday at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), whose student body is 89…

Sep 30, 2018

Op-Ed ·

NATO Isn’t Cheap—and It’s Still Worth the Price

President Trump’s confounding behavior during the recent meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members and at this week’s Helsinki summit with Russia has produced no shortage of dismay among…

Jul 28, 2018

Op-Ed ·

Concession…or Common Sense? Trading Drills for Dialogue

Much has been made of President Trump’s post-summit announcement that he was cancelling joint war games with South Korea. In light of his recent campaign of “maximum pressure” and last summer’s…

Jun 13, 2018

Op-Ed ·

How Postponing a Wargame Helped Create a Diplomatic Opening

Delaying Foal Eagle 2018 made an underappreciated contribution toward the first meeting of U.S. and North Korean heads of state. U.S. and South Korean officials credit the U.S. strategy of maximum pressure and “zero concessions”…

Mar 12, 2018