Job of Providing an Overview

¶ … job of providing an overview of the basics of coercive diplomacy, its formulation as a theory by Alexander George, and the way it interprets history and suggests further political actions. The article is an especially strong choice for introducing those less familiar with such topics to the issues facing diplomatic and military tactics in the modern world; without condescending or over-explaining, the article manages to impart a wide view of the complex history of the twentieth century. The Cold War is often dealt with in an overly-simplistic manner, or else discussions that involve the this period of history and the specific tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union become bogged down in details. In this article, however, and using the framework of coercive diplomacy, the tactics and action of this period are given due discussion without an overemphasis on their uniqueness. That is, the article shows how effective a framework coercive diplomacy is for looking at issues both during and after the Cold War era, instead of trying to redefine history.

The article focuses more on post-Cold War history, and here it does become slightly more bogged down in details. However, the concept of coercive diplomacy is shown to be at least as applicable today as during the Cold War. By applying the conceptual framework to various actions of the United States, the concept is much more clearly defined, and the practicality and applicability of its suggestions are made much more clear. Of paramount importance is the need for the coercer to clearly communicate what they want from the coerced. When this does not occur, no amount or type of diplomacy will lead to the correct result. Many of the incidents listed by the authors could have been solved sooner, I believe, had this clear communication been achieved.