6 - Overview of Disincentives to and Restraints on the Interstate Use of Force

Summary

Peace between states is commonly the result of mutual interests in cooperation and lack of incentives to use force. However, there are also disincentives to the use of force, and several will be discussed in following chapters. This chapter gives an overview and points to the foreseeable losses of lives and resources as the most widely recognized disincentive. Where a potential adversary has strong military force, there is a disincentive to initiate the use of force. When both sides have nuclear weapons, we speak of a mutual deterrence and the risk of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD). Today, the mutual economic dependence of states (MED) may also make ruptures of relations so painful as to be a disincentive to the use of force. Past failures of the use of force should – but do not always – create disincentives. Legal norms, notably the UN Charter, prohibiting the use of force constitute disincentives, but the effectiveness is hard to verify. The same may be said of public opinion.