Introduction: Coercion and Regional Powers

摘要

Coercion is the threat of the use of force and, if required, the limited use of force, along with a variety of other non-military coercive tools, which will increase the credibility of the threat in order to persuade the opponent to change its actions. The study of coercion has been a major focus of academic thinking in strategic studies. Attuned to the changes in international politics, the focus of coercion has changed in accordance with the emergence of new security challenges. Heavily theorised and used by American academics and decision-makers, developments in American foreign policy have played a key role in determining the direction of the study of coercion.