Ruthlessness and Sympathy: Smart Power Thinking in Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Insurgency

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Copyright: Hardy, Keiran
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Abstract
In response to 9/11 and in the early stages of the Iraq War, Western governments relied on hard coercive strategies for countering political violence that posed significant problems for human rights and the rule of law. Some years later, when it became clear that those coercive strategies would not provide a sustainable solution over the long-term, the same governments developed soft policy responses to political violence which were designed to mitigate the excesses of previous years. These soft policy responses are viewed as having the capacity to improve social cohesion and reduce marginalisation, and they are designed to work alongside existing coercive measures. In combining hard and soft responses in this way, Western governments have created strategies for countering political violence that epitomise Joseph Nye's influential theory of smart power . Smart power suggests that governments can best achieve their policy objectives by supplementing hard power (coercion, threats and inducements) with soft power. Nye defines soft power as the capacity to influence behaviour through culture, ideology and institutions. This smart power model hinges on three key ideas or premises: (1) hard power and soft power are distinct, (2) soft power is morally preferable to hard power, and (3) hard power and soft power are complementary. The thesis refers collectively to these three ideas as smart power thinking . What is striking about Nye's theory is that he recognises a range of tensions, problems and complexities underlying each idea, but he largely dismisses these more complex issues in recommending that governments develop smart power strategies. This thesis critically examines smart power thinking in two separate but related fields: domestic counter-terrorism and foreign counter-insurgency. It does so through four case studies: UK counter-terrorism since 9/11, Australian counter-terrorism since 9/11, the Malayan Emergency of 1948-60 and the Iraq War during the Surge of 2007- 08. The Malayan Emergency provides an important historical case study because it gave rise to the idea that militaries can defeat insurgencies by winning hearts and minds . Through these case studies, the thesis explores the dangers and downsides of supplementing coercion with soft power. It offers recommendations as to how governments can devise more complex and nuanced smart power strategies that address the shortcomings of smart power thinking.
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Author(s)
Hardy, Keiran
Supervisor(s)
Williams, George
Golder, Ben
Zedner, Lucia
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Publication Year
2014
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Thesis
Degree Type
PhD Doctorate
UNSW Faculty
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