Gunboat diplomacy gets mixed results for Trump

THE British diplomat James Cable was an influential naval strategic thinker in the latter half of the 20th century. His legacy is his study of ‘Gunboat Diplomacy’, the tactic used primarily by 19th century imperialists to intimidate less powerful states into granting concessions through a demonstration of their superior military capabilities, usually by positioning a fleet of warships off the weaker country’s coast. The use of firepower was rarely required as the mere presence provided the desired effect.

The idea of military force as a political tool is firmly rooted in the 19th century writings of the Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz.

Cable referred to the practice as ‘Violent Peace’ as he grouped the types of force into categories:

■ Definitive force: creating or removing a fait accompli;

■ Purposeful force: changing the policy or character of the target government;

■ Catalytic force: buying breathing space or present policy-makers with an increased range of options;

■ Expressive force: sending a political message. Although he’s not regarded as a scholar of note, the idea of military force being a political tool, as chronicled by Von Clausewitz and Cable, clearly remains in the thinking of Donald Trump.

His tactics with North Korea appear to be bearing fruit. The same cannot be said of his approach to Iran.