What are The Potential Benefits and What are The Risks Associated with Coercive Diplomacy?

After all nation states will or certainly should consider various techniques and strategies in their dealings with each other to achieve their own objectives and Coercive Diplomacy is a useful tool in certain circumstances. Stephenson had suggested that Coercive Diplomacy have the capacity to maintain its validity in any period as well as in the contemporary global strategic environment. Indeed recent history especially the war on terror could vindicate it as much as ever before (Stephenson, 2002, p.2).

In many respects the development of grand strategy by national governments is more pragmatic when Coercive Diplomacy is used in conjunction with other diplomatic strategies and also foreign policy tools. Coercive Diplomacy according to Stephenson offers the nation states that are prepared to use it advantages. To a large extent the use of Coercive Diplomacy still holds validity in our contemporary global strategic environment providing that governments have a rational grand strategy (George, 1991).

Coercive Diplomacy provides a framework that allows national governments to threaten other countries with economic and military sanctions in order to gain concessions from them. The fact that Coercive Diplomacy means that nation states have different steps that they can take to escalate or diffuse arguments or confrontations with each other gives them opportunities to fulfil their grand strategies. These strategies will only have a chance of working if all sides are clear of each other’s motivation and objectives (Stephenson, 2003 p. 3).

In that respect Coercive Diplomacy if used sensibly by national governments should have no problems in maintaining its relevance in today’s world. The success or failure of any nation states grand strategy can depend as much on the rationality of their decision – makers and the decisions of their counterparts in other countries. Coercive Diplomacy just like any other decision – making tool is only as capable or valid as the people who have to use it. Government decision – makers and diplomats have to use Coercive Diplomacy when they are confident that it is the best means of achieving their clearly understood and realistic objectives. They have to convince other countries and terrorist groups that they are prepared to use all means necessary to achieve their objectives (George, 1991).

There are without doubt potential benefits for using Coercive Diplomacy as a tool within grand strategy. The way in which Coercive Diplomacy gives governments different stages of action and reaction improves the chances of compromises being reached without either side resorting to war. The majority of countries it can be assumed gear their own grand strategy to achieve their foreign policy aims peacefully. Individual grand strategies potentially benefit from the adaptable structure of Coercive Diplomacy in achieving diplomatic compromises between countries. The use of Coercive Diplomacy techniques if applied properly allows one country to steadily escalate its actions without fighting the state it wants concessions from (Stephenson, 2002, p. 5).