Can anyone name a time in history when diplomacy without force has worked?

Question

Ryan,
All of your answer were becuuse of fear of force.Two involved a show of strenght by the U.S.Navy.The other because of a promise by in coming pres.R.Reagan to use whatever means needed to free the hostages inciuding military force.They knew he meant it.

Again the cold war was won when the U.S.S.R. understood that R.Reagan would never back down.It seem as if most responders understand that there has to be at least implied force.

If everyone would look at fra59e,he explains it even better than i did.Great answer.

BarB,I assure you i have studied my history.Suprisingly most of my info. on the end of the cold war come's from a pbs documentry on the end of the cold war.All president during the cold war practiced appeasment with the USSR,Reagan didnt he stood his ground.Gorbachev realised he either had to launch nukes or give up. If you believe his decision was anything but forced in the face of a great leader then you are politically niave,or a mourning communist.Your name is barbie.

Answer 1

Diplomacy can work if it is backed up by force.

Force does not work by being backed up by diplomacy. Unless you are able and willing to totally exterminate your adversary, as the followers of Joshua did to the Peoples of the Land, as the Romans did to Carthage, and as Simon de Montfort's army under orders from the Vatican did to their fellow-Christians in the Albigensian Crusade.

A problem with the use of force is that bad leadership, like Hitler and LBJ and King George the Decider, abuse their armed forces to pursue unworthy purposes.

Poland was no real threat to Nazi Germany. Vietnam never threatened America. Saddam Hussein - who BTW was not nearly as bad as Robert Mugabe - did not threaten us.

A sound defense policy is one of citizen defense. Every male American aged 16 to 45 is, by law, even if the law is not enforced, a member of the US Militia, responsible to defend the country. [USC title 10, section 311]. Defense by a fully armed and trained civilian militia kjept Athens secure in its better days, and keeps Switzerland safe today. Disarming the civilians ("gun control") while building up a professional military invites abuse such as we are witnessing right now.

A ruler with power to use a professional military for his own whims becomes drunk with power and ignores diplomacy.

Answer 2

Well, maybe the cold war...but that was pretty much just a big bluffing game. Or maybe every countries' dealing with North Korea...but that is more like giving into an extortionist. Maybe you can find some examples in Brazil...I don't recall them ever having a significant bloody war.

You can certainly invade a country without force...just look at all the illegals coming in who are demanding rights and benefits as if they were citizens (yet without the willingness to become a taxpayer.)

Answer 3

Cuban Missle Crisis and more recently during reagans standoff with the Soviets during the cold war.

Answer 4

Diplomacy without force is as effective as a law regulating weather.

Answer 5

Cuban Missile crisis, Irainian hostage crisis, and the most recent incident involving the British sailors.
Right of the top of my head...

Answer 6

It has only worked when two opposing democracies talk... it almost never works between a dictator and a democracy

Answer 7

it worked wonders for France in the 30's, didn't it?

Answer 8

HELLO OUT THERE! Ronald Reagan did NOT end the cold war. He made a speech at the Berlin Wall but it was several occurances and the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev that ended it.....Please acquaint yourself with history that YOU read and research, not what someone else tells you.

The End of the Cold War

The demise of the Soviet Union began when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power as its General Secretary in 1985. Understanding the bad state of the Soviet economic and financial affairs, he brought a message of reform and change. He announced two new policies- glastnost and perestroika-which he thought would save the communist system. However, these new policies would ultimately overturn the Soviet system.

Glasnost
Glasnost did away with the strict censorship, which the government had practiced for decades. Russian for "openness," glasnost allowed Soviet citizens to speak openly about their society's problems. Banned books were made available, and jamming of foreign radio broadcasts was stopped.

Perestroika
Glasnost was only the first step. Next came perestroika, Russian for "restructuring." Perestroika was not an attempt by Gorbachev to destroy communism, but an attempt to end the ineffciency and corruption that were so common. Some features of private enterprise returned under perestroika. Product prices would rise when production costs rose. Local factories had more power of their decisions as planning was decentralized. Finally, multicandidate elections would be held, although each candidate had to be a member of the communist party.

Poland

Poland's Solidarity labor union began to rise in power in the late 1970's. They organized strikes, demanding more pay and changes to the unfair labor practices. They organized strikes, demanding more pay and changes to the unfair labor practices. Eventually, they won an end to censorship and political repression, religious freedom, and recognition as a labor union. Gorbachev watched Solidarity's strikes crushed the Polish economy, and finally forced the Polish leaders to allow free elections. The Solidarity candidates were only allowed to run for a third of the seats, but swept the elections in which they ran. Still a communist government, the nation faced massive economic hardships. As electricity, gas, and water prices rose 500 percent while wages remained frozen, the Communist Party voted to dissolve itself on January 29, 1990. Poland changed its name from the People's Republic of Poland back to its pre-World War II name, the Republic of Poland. Democratic elections were held, and communism fell.

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was built by the Soviets to prevent citizens of East Germany from escaping to West Germany. East Germany, while prospering compared to its Marxist-Leninist neighbors, was an embarrassment compared to West Germany. East Germans made only one-third of the wages of West German workers, and often had to endure goods shortages. If it were not for the Berlin Wall, hundreds of thousands of Germans might have fled to the West.

East Germans could not escape to the West via West Germany. However, in 1989 nearby Hungary opened its border to noncommunist Austria and East Germnas swarmed thorugh Czechoslovokia to Hungary , and then escaped to the West. Within a year, 500,00- East Germans had left their homeland.

In order to prevent any further escapes, East Germany closed its border with Czechoslovokia in early October, but could not keep the lid on things much longer. When Gorbachev visited East Germany to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of East Germany, large crowds begged him for help. Large crowds and protests grew, and when he could not keep control any longer, the East German Communist Party general secretary Eric Honecker resigned. His replacement, Egon Krenz, met with the protesters and listened to their problems. Soon after, he fired his entire cabinet and ordered the Berlin Wall opened, saying "We want a socialism that is economically effective... and most of all, has its face turned toward the people."

The wall was opened on November 9, 1989. Huge crowds surged from the east. Guards on the West Berlin side, at Checkpoint Charlie, did not know what to do and refused at first to let the freedom seekers in. West Berliners chanted, "Come over! Come over!" to the East Berliners. Finally at 11:57 P.M., an American border guard, with a shrug of his shoulders, allowed the gate to open and thousands of people to pour through.

"I just can't believe it! I don't feel like I'm in prison anymore!" said Angelike Wache, the first person across.

The communist regime crumbled rapidly. On March 18, 1990, East Germans voted the communists out of office, and in September East Germany became the first member to leave the Warsaw Pact. All of the Soviet troops were withdrawn from East Germany by the end of 1994.

Answer 9

Antony and Cleopatra.