1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910461988103321

Autore

Oakes Amy <1976->

Titolo

Diversionary war [[electronic resource] ] : the link between domestic unrest and international conflict / / Amy Oakes

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Stanford, California, : Stanford University Press, 2012

ISBN

0-8047-8493-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (281 p.)

Disciplina

355.02/72

Soggetti

Politics and war

War - Causes

Political stability

War - Decision making

International relations - Decision making

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Tables and Figures -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Causes and Consequences of Diversionary War -- 3. Quantitative Results -- 4. A Diversionary War: Argentina’s Invasion of the British Falkland Islands, 1982 -- 5. A Diversionary Spectacle: The U.S. Government’s Expedition to the Utah Territory, 1857–1858 -- 6. The Road Not Taken: When Pauper States Do Not Use Diversionary Tactics -- 7. Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

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. Diversionary War 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.