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Deterrence

Deterrence refers to strategies intended to dissuade an adversary from taking threatening or undesirable actions. It involves threatening costs that outweigh potential benefits if the action is taken. To be effective, deterrence requires communicating credible threats that the deterring party has the capability to carry out, and assumes some degree of rationality in those being deterred. Historically, deterrence has taken various forms including nuclear, chemical/biological, conventional, and non-military sanctions. During the Cold War, mutually assured destruction was used to deter a Soviet nuclear attack on Europe through invulnerable second-strike capabilities and nuclear triads. Following the Cold War, deterrence took on broader, multinational dimensions regarding how countries deter the

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107 views2 pages

Deterrence

Deterrence refers to strategies intended to dissuade an adversary from taking threatening or undesirable actions. It involves threatening costs that outweigh potential benefits if the action is taken. To be effective, deterrence requires communicating credible threats that the deterring party has the capability to carry out, and assumes some degree of rationality in those being deterred. Historically, deterrence has taken various forms including nuclear, chemical/biological, conventional, and non-military sanctions. During the Cold War, mutually assured destruction was used to deter a Soviet nuclear attack on Europe through invulnerable second-strike capabilities and nuclear triads. Following the Cold War, deterrence took on broader, multinational dimensions regarding how countries deter the

Uploaded by

zulkeffly mohamed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Deterrence

Meaning
Strategy intended to dissuade an adversary from taking an action not yet started, or to prevent them
from doing something that another state desires (open source)
Psychological strategy designed to dissuade a second party from undertaking a certain action by
persuading it that the costs of the action will outweigh the benefits. It involve the threat of harm rather
than its application (Robinson P. 2008)
If he is to be coerced you must put him in a situation that is even more unpleasant than the sacrifice
you call on him to make (Clausewitz)

Categories (Huth, P. K. (1999)


Direct Deterrence
preventing an armed attack against a state's own territory
Extended Deterrence
preventing an armed attack against another state

Condition
Those making the threat must be able to communicate it effectively to their adversaries
Show that if you do xxx action, you will get this
Those making the threat must actually posses the capability to carry it out
The threat must be believable
Credibility and reputation
It assume some degree of rationality in those being deterred
Understand the values of their adversaries and how they measure cost and benefit

Is Deterrence still relevance in security issues?


Threats that immune to deterrence?
Role of deterrence in environmental, societal and human security?
Until what extend deterrence can be used by non nuclear state?

Forms
Nuclear
Well known form of deterrence
Still relevant till today
To deter the adversaries from the use of nuclear weapon
Render other countries from possessing nuclear weapon
Chemical & Biological Weapons
Superpowers and developing nation as a form of deterrence against other country
To create fear for who posses it
Widely used during Cold War
Conventional
Denying an aggressor with conventional forces
Focus on the type of weapons used
Deterrence theory does not apply to guerilla conflict (Vietnam War)
Non-military
Sanctions, embargoes, boycotting of events, suspension and the use of air space
Non effective because it does not have an immediate effect
The concept is to hurt the adversary

Phases
Cold war
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)
To deter a soviet attack to Europe
Invulnerable second strike capability
Nuclear triad
Anti Ballistic missile treaty - 1972-2002 to limit the amount of ABM
Post Cold war
Broader multinational dimension
How US deter nations other than former USSR from using WMD

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