The Politics of Coercion: Toward a Theory of Coercive Airpower for Post-Cold War Conflict - Doctrine, Operation Desert Storm, Four Major Theories of Punishment, Risk, Decapitation, and Denial

This excellent report, professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, confronts an issue of high interest to airmen and policy makers alike: What does coercion theory suggest about the use of airpower in the early twenty-first century? More specifically, Colonel Hinman seeks to determine whether any of the existing theories of coercion can stand alone as a coherent, substantive, and codified approach to airpower employment. Framing his analysis on three key attributes of conflict in the post-Cold War era—limited, nonprotracted war; political restraint; and the importance of a better state of peace—Hinman examines the contemporary applicability of the four major theories of coercive airpower: punishment, risk, decapitation, and denial.

For reasons explained in the pages that follow, Hinman finds limitations in each of the prevailing theories of coercion. In proposing a new construct that more adequately meets the needs of post-Cold War conflict, the author recommends a three-phase "hybrid approach" to coercion that draws on the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of existing theory. Arguing that aspects of this hybrid approach were evident in the employment of airpower in Operations Desert Storm, Deliberate Force, and Allied Force, Hinman contends that his hybrid theory of coercion is uniquely well suited for the unsettled geopolitical landscape of the post-Cold War era.

Foreword * CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION * What Is a Theory of Coercive Airpower? * The Attributes of Post-Cold War Conflict * Notes * CHAPTER 2 - COERCION THEORY AND THE POST-COLD WAR ERA * Punishment-Based Coercion: A Theory for Total War * Risk-Based Coercion: A Theory for Limited War * Decapitation-Based Coercion: Echoes of the Past * Denial-Based Coercion: Too Much of a Good Thing * Notes * CHAPTER 3 - A NEW THEORY FOR A NEW ERA * Phase One * Phase Two * Phase Three * Limited, Nonprotracted War and the Coercion Hybrid * The Coercion Hybrid and the Politically Restrained Nature of Post-Cold War Conflict * The Coercion Hybrid and the Better State of Peace * The Escalatory Nature of the Coercion Hybrid * Conclusion * Notes * CHAPTER 4 - THE COERCION HYBRID AND POST-COLD WAR CONFLICT * Operation Desert Storm * Operation Deliberate Force * Operation Allied Force * Conclusion * Notes * CHAPTER 5 - POLITICS, DOCTRINE, AND THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN AIRPOWER * Recommendations * Conclusion * Notes * BIBLIOGRAPHY