Dialética da dissuasão: a mudança de paradigma

Abstract

The concept of dissuasion has always existed. It is easily understood in the context of a mechanism used to gain advantages over others through the use of a threat. However, there has been little work done on the subject in the Portuguese literature. The purpose of this work is to identify the concepts of deterrence that involve the use of violence by the State and compare these identified concepts that western authors from the XX century employ. To achieve this objective, the following question must be answered: What is there in the XX century western literature that supports the use of State s violence? The use of dialectic method allows one to abstract phenomena from historic facts. In this way, it is possible to link knowledge to concepts through the use of terms from theoretical elements. To achieve this, one must reference political science with its use of methodology that adopts three levels of abstract discussion: the physical (the actual fact), the conceptual (understanding) and the linguistic (communication). It is the conjugation of these three elements that allows a scientific study of an inexact science without formulas or theories. The adopted methodology attempts to respond to the following question of study: what concepts present in the literature involve the use of State s violence; how do the principle authors of strategic studies understand and define these concepts, and how are these concepts expressed in western XX century literature. After producing a previous bibliography, it is possible the identification of terms that permit an understanding of the phenomena of war as a politic fact: power, violence, threat and convincing derived from influence. Following the etymologic study of the terms it is possible an analysis of the levels of violence: persuasion, deterrence and coercion (brute force as a variant). With the identification of constructs more elaborated concepts that permeate strategic studies, knowledge of security, defense and strategy is broadened and the relationship within the elements that constitute the levels of violence applied by the State is established. Within the context of this knowledge arises the spectrum of violence. An analysis of the works of thirteen renowned western authors in strategic studies permits an understanding how deterrence operated during the period of study. The visions of the problem, individual solutions and proposals are discussed and at times compared. In the conclusion, a brief review of the relevant points underlines the motives and the elements that lead to a change in the paradigm in the clausewitzian model on winning wars. And finally it is held the synthesis by the term deterrence