Bombing to provoke : rockets, missiles, and drones as instruments of fear and coercion /
Bombing to Provoke contends that it is not what aerospace weapons physically do but how they emotionally affect and what they prompt decision-makers in target states to do in response that matters for understanding their provocative and coercive effect. The rapid proliferation and growing sophistica...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Oxford University Press,
[2024]
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | Bombing to Provoke contends that it is not what aerospace weapons physically do but how they emotionally affect and what they prompt decision-makers in target states to do in response that matters for understanding their provocative and coercive effect. The rapid proliferation and growing sophistication of aerospace weapons - rockets, missiles, and drones - have altered the landscape of warfare. The influence of these weapons on the battlefield is felt profoundly, yet the mechanism of provocation and coercion by which these weapons alter the will of the adversary is poorly understood. Bombing to Provoke argues that aerospace weapons provoke by weaponizing fear and triggering a sense of defenselessness among the targeted population. Aerospace weapons induce fear in an adversary by threatening a chemical, biological, or nuclear strike or demonstrating the ability to bombard repeatedly the target's economic and political core. The emotion of fear modifies the decision-making calculus of leaders by altering their appraisal and action tendencies. These fears amplify the political vulnerabilities of decision-makers in the target state. The fears and political vulnerabilities provoke the target state to divert substantial military resources to redress the threat. Despite the diversion of military resources, in some instances, if the target state is unable to extinguish the threat, it may be coerced to offer political concessions. The book employs five case studies - World War II, the Iran-Iraq War, the 1991 Gulf War, the Second Lebanon War, and the Yemeni War - to rigorously test and refine the theory. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780197792667 0197792669 9780197792643 0197792642 9780197792650 0197792650 |