Coercive Diplomacy, Military Strategy and Foreign Policy Projections

Abstract

In foreign policy projections, leaders consider options and make decision based principally on their strategic situation and evaluation of relative power. The means and methods open to states may include strategic planning which implies states decisions to employ armed forces impressively in their pursuit of national goals by exerting influence and making concealed inputs on the output of other states policies, all aimed at convincing the target state of one’s political resolve and military capabilities. States without these capabilities are therefore in a dilemma. The aim of this paper is to place the relationship between coercive diplomacy, military strategy and foreign policy projections. The paper adopted the survey research design. The instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire while the simple linear regression analysis was used to examine the extent of the relationship that exist between the variables. The two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between the two independent variables of coercive diplomacy & military strategy and foreign policy projections, and that the possession of particular military technologies and weapons’ systems influences the relative state with which a state can support its foreign policy projections. The paper therefore recommends that for any state to become an active and credible international actor, able to shape its close environment and contribute to global peace and security, it must develop the military capabilities and political will to back up its foreign policy by force when necessary.