Gunboat diplomacy

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In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power—implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force.

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Origin of the term

The term comes from the age of warring European empires, where such displays typically involved demonstrations of naval might—gunboats were a prominent type of warship and symbolized an advanced military. A country negotiating with a European power—usually over issues of trade—would notice that a warship or fleet of ships had appeared off its coast. The mere sight of such power almost always had a considerable effect, and it was rarely necessary for such boats to use other measures, such as demonstrations of cannon fire.

A notable and controversial example of Gunboat Diplomacy was the Don Pacifico Incident in 1850, in which the British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston dispatched a squadron of the Royal Navy to blockade the Greek port of Piraeus in retaliation for the harming of a British subject, David Pacifico, in Athens, and the subsequent failure of the government of King Otto to remunerate the Gibraltar-born (and therefore British) Pacifico.

The effectiveness of such simple demonstrations of an Imperial nation's projection of force capabilities meant that those nations with naval power, especially Britain, could establish military bases (for example, Diego Garcia) and arrange economically advantageous relationships around the world. Aside from military conquest, gunboat diplomacy was the dominant way to establish new trade partners, colonial outposts, and expansion of empire.

Those lacking the resources and technological advancements of European empires found that their own peaceable relationships were readily dismantled in the face of such pressures, and they therefore came to depend on the imperial nations for access to raw materials and overseas markets. For up-and-coming industrial nations in the later 19th century, such as Germany and Japan, the rules of the game were clear: establish an empire, or lose.

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Modern contexts

Gunboat diplomacy is considered a form of hegemony. As the United States became a military power in the first decade of the 20th century, the Rooseveltian version of gunboat diplomacy, big stick diplomacy, was partially superseded by dollar diplomacy: replacing the big stick with the "juicy carrot" of American private investment. However, during Woodrow Wilson's presidency, conventional gunboat diplomacy did occur, most notably in the case of the U.S. Army's occupation of Veracruz during Mexico's civil war.

Gunboat diplomacy in the post-Cold War world was still based on naval forces. U.S. administrations have frequently changed the disposition of their major naval fleets to influence opinion in foreign capitals. More urgent diplomatic points were made by the Clinton administration in the Balkans (in alliance with Great Britain's Blair government) and elsewhere, using sea-launched Tomahawk missiles. The term "gunboat diplomacy" has been superseded in many circles by "power projection."

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Examples

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19th century


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In fiction

Gunboat diplomacy is a common theme of sci-fi alien invasion stories and films. The alien invader is always of a greatly advanced technology, and typically hides some nefarious purpose behind its outward expressions of peaceful and civil diplomacy.

In all cases, the alien fleet's arrival is an extreme shock and, for the most advanced societies, completely overturns all concepts of superiority and security. In many cases, the "gunboat diplomacy" is only short lived, and slight provocation brings about global conflict. In others, the illusion of diplomatic nature is long-lasting, and only a few are privy to any underlying truth.

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External links

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