POLI 360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Great Power, Blitzkrieg, Chiang Kai-Shek

• School: McGill University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLI 360
• Professor: T.V.Paul

Document Summary

In the interstate context asymmetric conflict is conflict between two states with different military capabilities. They use asymmetric strategies and tactics to win wars. Though why would these states initiate the conflict against stronger opponents that are more powerful. Power in this context is defined in physical terms, military strength, economic strength and demographic factors. States that are more powerful are assumed to be able to inflict large amounts of damage on the weaker state, if all things remain constant. Usually, genuinely weak states do not start wars, as their survival is not guaranteed if they lose. Therefore what are the military, political and strategic reasons that countries that do go to war, go to war. Conventional deterrence assumes a deployment of adequate weaponry and communication and is based on denial. One must deploy military weaponry and implicitly or explicitly imply their use. The tendency however is to over exaggerate the importance of gross capabilities.