• Source: Wedge strategy (diplomacy)

Wedge strategies in diplomacy are used to prevent, divide, and weaken an adversary coalition. Wedge strategies can take the shape of reward-based or coercive-based. Alignment abnormalities can arise because of wedge strategies.
Wedge strategies may be a subset or similar to Divide and rule strategies, however, there may be a slight optical difference. With the divide and rule strategy, there is a clear winner, whereas with the wedge strategy, attention is not focused on the winner but instead against the discredited coalition.




US examples


1948: George Kennan argued that the United States should "wean a Chinese coalition government from the Soviets"
1952 CIA's national covert strategy objective "should be to drive a wedge between the Communist government of China and the Communist government of the USSR to the point where hostilities actually break out or are on the constant verge of breaking out...so that they are no longer a menace to the West and to their Asiatic neighbors."




Great Britain examples


1930s: Great Britain's defensive attempts to accommodate Italy
1940–1941: Great Britain used a wedge strategy to keep Spain from entering World War II on the side of the Axis




Soviet examples


1950: Moscow inciting Mao to actions guaranteed to sustain Sino-American friction




Russian examples


2016: Interference by Russia in the UK Brexit referendum, driving wedges between the EU member states




Contemporary Chinese examples


Against the Australia-US alliance
Against the EU
Against the EU-US alliance
Against the Japan-US alliance
Against the Pakistan-US alliance
Against the Philippines-US alliance
Against the ROK-US alliance
Against the ROK-Japan-US security trilateral
Against the Taiwan-US alliance
Against the Vietnam-US partnership




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Wedge strategy (diplomacy)
• Military strategy
• Public diplomacy
• Timeline of British diplomatic history
• Brand
• International relations (1919–1939)
• Napoleonic weaponry and warfare
• Empire: Total War
• List of battles and operations in the 1948 Palestine war
• Political warfare