- Book Chapter
1
- 10.1007/978-1-349-08824-9_11
Denial and Punishment: Straddling the Horns of NATO’s Dilemma
- Jan 01, 1986
- Johan Jørgen Holst
It may be useful at the outset to define our terms. By military doctrine I shall understand the principles which are laid down as true concerning the deployment and employment of military force in the event of war. In the case of NATO they are embodied in MC 14/3 and amplified by authoritative spokesmen for the North Atlantic Council, the Secretary General of NATO or SACEUR. The doctrine typically establishes the relationship between challenge and response and among the various measures available for response. It should give general guidance to operational planning and the force planning process as well as provide a bridge between foreign policy and military dispositions. By arms control I shall understand measures — tacit or explicit; unilateral, bilateral or multilateral — designed to reduce or otherwise constrain the deployment or employment of military force. It seems clear therefore that military doctrine and arms control may at times constitute opposite sides of the same coin or of very similar coins. The purpose of arms control is to prevent war and limit the damage if a war should break out in spite of the efforts to prevent it. The purposes of a military doctrine is to provide coherence and cohesion to the process of mustering military force to deter and defeat an enemy. The perspective of military doctrine is typically one of maximizing the chance of success at the minimum cost, in other words it is concerned about the efficient allocation of means. The perspective of arms control is to prevent the military means from dictating or dominating political decision-making. Arms-control policy and military doctrine form a complex medley of policy perspectives on the prevention and conduct of war.
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