{"title":"Setting the Strategic Cat among the Policy Pigeons: The Problems and Paradoxes of Western Intervention Strategy","authors":"Michael Smith","doi":"10.1080/1057610X.2021.1903669","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In theory, the idea of strategy is easy to comprehend but in practice it is a hard taskmaster because it often involves calculations of political values that are rarely amenable to the kind of rationalistic application of “expert” opinion to which Western nations invariably default when considering overseas interventions. Based on remarks to the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre, this research note argues that foreign policy experts frequently find themselves out of touch with the sentiments of their own populations, which in part is responsible for the poor strategic outcomes that Western foreign policies have incurred in recent years. A number of remedies are suggested, based principally on returning Western policy making to a tradition of prudential realism.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"67 1","pages":"2093 - 2097"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2021-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1903669","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract In theory, the idea of strategy is easy to comprehend but in practice it is a hard taskmaster because it often involves calculations of political values that are rarely amenable to the kind of rationalistic application of “expert” opinion to which Western nations invariably default when considering overseas interventions. Based on remarks to the Oxford Changing Character of War Centre, this research note argues that foreign policy experts frequently find themselves out of touch with the sentiments of their own populations, which in part is responsible for the poor strategic outcomes that Western foreign policies have incurred in recent years. A number of remedies are suggested, based principally on returning Western policy making to a tradition of prudential realism.
从理论上讲,战略的概念很容易理解,但在实践中,它是一项艰巨的任务,因为它经常涉及对政治价值的计算,这些价值很少适用于西方国家在考虑海外干预时总是默认的“专家”意见的理性应用。这份研究报告基于对牛津战争变化特征中心(Oxford Changing Character of War Centre)的评论,认为外交政策专家经常发现自己与本国民众的情绪脱节,这在一定程度上是近年来西方外交政策战略结果不佳的原因。提出了一些补救措施,主要是基于西方政策制定回归到审慎现实主义的传统。
期刊介绍:
Terrorism and insurgency are now the dominant forms of conflict in the world today. Fuelled by moribund peace processes, ethnic and religious strife, disputes over natural resources, and transnational organized crime, these longstanding security challenges have become even more violent and intractable: posing new threats to international peace and stability. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism aims to cast new light on the origins and implications of conflict in the 21st Century and to illuminate new approaches and solutions to countering the growth and escalation of contemporary sub-state violence.