Small Wars, Big Stakes: Coercion, Persuasion, and Airpower in Counterrevoluntionary War
Abstract
The United States has vital interests to defend in many foreign countries. The strategist must understand the relationship between counterrevolutionary strategy, the military instrument, and airpower if called upon to help a friendly government defeat a revolutionary threat. Four questions can help the strategist explore the nature of this relationship. What is the role of the military instrument in counterrevolutionary warfare? What is the role of airpower in counterrevolutionary warfare? Can airpower achieve strategic effects in counterrevolutionary warfare? Can airpower make major contributions toward the success of counterrevolutionary forces? The strategy development process is a tool that can guide the strategist through a review of revolutionary theory and an analysis of counterrevolutionary strategy. The revolutionary environment must be examined to determine the actors, motivations, aims, and strategies of the revolutionary battlefield. Next, a national counterrevolutionary strategy is formulated that identifies the roles that each instrument of power must play to achieve the desired end-state. Military leaders formulate a subordinate strategy based on the assigned role(s), which includes determining how airpower can best support the national strategy. Strategy execution implies monitoring the instruments of power, reassessing the environment, and modifying ends, ways, and means as appropriate. Theory suggests the government must correctly identify the nature of the revolutionary threat before developing its counterrevolutionary strategy. After determining whether it is facing a partisan or insurgent threat (or something in between), the government tries to identify the correct mixture of persuasive and coercive operations that is needed to win over the people and neutralize the revolutionary threat.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA391656
Entities
People
- Norman J. Brozenick
Organizations
- Air University