Faculty Affiliate Jay Sankaran speaks at Brookings Institution (Virtual)

On November 25th, the Brookings Foreign Policy program hosted a discussion on how aerospace weapons influence decision-makers in target states—not just through their physical impact, but by the emotional and strategic responses they provoke, which are key to understanding their coercive effect. Asia Policy faculty affiliate Jaganath Sankaran joined to speak about his new book.

In, Bombing to Provoke, Jaganath Sankaran contends that it is not what aerospace weapons physically do but what they prompt decisionmakers in target states to do in response that matters for understanding their provocative and coercive effect. Rockets, missiles, and drones weaponize fear, trigger a sense of defenselessness, and provoke an overreaction, particularly a large diversion of military effort and resources despite the inability of these weapons to meaningfully deny military capabilities. If the target state is still unable to extinguish the threat, it may be coerced to offer political concessions. The event was moderated by Mike O’Hanlon and include Sarah Kreps and Bruce Riedel.

Watch a recording here.