Diversionary war
Subtitle: the link between domestic unrest and international conflict
By: Amy Oakes
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Stanford, California
Language: eng
Number of pages: 265
ISBN-13: 9780804782456; 9780804782463
Subjects: Political stability; International relations; Decision making; Politics and war; War; Causes
Description: The very existence of diversionary wars is hotly contested in the press and among political scientists. Yet no book has so far tackled the key questions of whether leaders deliberately provoke conflicts abroad to distract the public from problems at home, or whether such gambles offer a more effective response to domestic discontent than appeasing opposition groups with political or economic concessions. This book addresses these questions by reinterpreting key historical examples of diversionary war -- such as Argentina's 1982 Falklands Islands invasion and U.S. President James Buchanan's decision to send troops to Mormon Utah in 1857. It breaks new ground by demonstrating that the use of diversionary tactics is, at best, an ineffectual strategy for managing civil unrest, and draws important conclusions for policymakers -- identifying several new, and sometimes counterintuitive, avenues by which embattled states can be pushed toward adopting alternative political, social, or economic strategies for managing domestic unrest.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Causes and consequences of diversionary war; title: Quantitative results; title: A diversionary war : Argentina's invasion of the British Falkland Islands, 1982; title: A diversionary spectacle : the U.S. government's expedition to the Utah Territory, 1857-1858; title: The road not taken : when pauper states do not use diversionary tactics.