Ambiguous Threats and Coercive Credibility

• In Event: Deterrence, Coercion, and Conflict

Brief Overview

I test the coercive effects of four types of ambiguous threats—unspecific, noncommittal, contradictory and non-assuring—using a survey experiment in China. I unpack the logic of ineffective threats with a range of outcomes on their informative value.

Author

• Samuel Liu, Cornell University