Coercive diplomacy is a strategic approach whereby a state seeks to influence another state’s behavior or decisions through threats, pressure, or the limited use of military force. Its central aim is to secure political concessions without engaging in full-scale warfare, using the possibility of escalation as leverage. This strategy is often described as “achieving peace through the threat of war,” emphasizing deterrence rather than destruction. Unlike brute force, which focuses on eliminating the adversary’s capabilities, coercive diplomacy attempts to compel compliance while preserving the adversary’s capacity to resist.

The 1994 U.S. intervention in Haiti exemplifies this method, as military threats led to regime change without actual combat. In contrast, operations such as the Israeli bombing of Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear facility in 1981 are seen as acts of brute force, aimed at immediate physical destruction rather than negotiation. The conceptual boundary between coercion and brute force, however, remains subject to interpretation, making coercive diplomacy a complex and contested subject within international relations.

• Byman, D., & Waxman, M. (2002). The dynamics of coercion: American foreign policy and the limits of military might. Cambridge University Press.
• Horowitz, M. C., & Reiter, D. (2001). When does aerial bombing work? Quantitative empirical tests, 1917–1999. Journal of Strategic Studies, 24(3), 145–174.
• Sperandei, M. (2015, October 10). What is Coercive Diplomacy? Politicon. https://politicon.co/en/essays/41/what-is-coercive-diplomacy