Overview
The proximate targets of compellent campaigns are states or groups, but the ultimate targets are individuals. The challenge is to threaten or hold at risk what he or she cares most about. This is true for all war, perhaps all foreign policy, but it is especially true when the United States seeks to prevail without using force and without necessarily defeating the adversary. Focusing on three cases of compellence (the first of which began by the United States seeking to compel Saddam Hussein to desist from both regional and domestic aggression; the second, seeking to discourage India from testing nuclear weapons; the third, seeking to force Cedras to step down and the Haitian military to allow Aristide to return to power), the report outlines the important factors to consider in any compellent campaigns by questioning (1) who is to be compelled, (2) how important U.S. stakes are, (3) what threats and/or inducements are relevant, and (4) who is doing the compelling.
Synopsis
The proximate targets of compellent campaigns are states or groups, but the ultimate targets are individuals. The challenge is to threaten or hold at risk what he or she cares most about. This is true for all war, perhaps all foreign policy, but it is especially true when the United States seeks to prevail without using force and without necessarily defeating the adversary. Focusing on three cases of compellence (the first of which began by the United States seeking to compel Saddam Hussein to desist from both regional and domestic aggression; the second, seeking to discourage India from testing nuclear weapons; the third, seeking to force Cedras to step down and the Haitian military to allow Aristide to return to power), the report outlines the important factors to consider in any compellent campaigns by questioning (1) who is to be compelled, (2) how important U.S. stakes are, (3) what threats and/or inducements are relevant, and (4) who is doing the compelling.