Coalitions against NBC‐armed regional aggressors: How are they formed, maintained, and led?

Abstract

The United States faces serious challenges in forming, maintaining, and leading an international military coalition for purposes of intervening to defeat and reverse an act of regional aggression by a state armed with nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons. This article assesses how and why such coalitions might prove important to the United States in prosecuting such conflicts. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the NBC threat is likely to make the challenges more manageable, not less so. While forming coalitions against NBC‐armed aggressors will be easier than is generally assumed, leading such coalitions will be more difficult. A set of military and political measures are identified that, if implemented, will ease future tasks of coalition formation, maintenance, and leadership.