冈本视频 political scientists are weighing in on the ethical questions related to the U.S. military strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Iran鈥檚 missile response, and how escalation doesn鈥檛 always result in deterrence.
鈥淚n theory, escalation can demonstrate resolve. According to deterrence theorists, by escalating a crisis, the United States can show its willingness to commit resources to protect American interests and deter adversaries from future actions. Iran鈥檚 response illustrates that such attempts are rarely successful,鈥 writes . 鈥淲e still don鈥檛 know much about the logic behind Iran鈥檚 specific choice of response, or how the United States might respond in turn. But even without this information, we can identify four reasons why deterrence by escalation is difficult to achieve 鈥 and why it鈥檚 especially tough in the case of the United States and Iran.鈥
Lupton and Associate Professor of Political Science Valerie Morkevi膷ius also published an examination of the ethical questions related to the U.S. strike on Soleimani.
鈥淭here is no doubt that Soleimani was not only responsible for past crimes, but was actively plotting additional attacks against the United States and its allies. But that alone is not enough to ethically justify his killing,鈥 , a blog focused on analysis related to political violence.
Morkevi膷ius is the author of , published by Cambridge University Press in 2018. Lupton, who was a recent guest on , is author of the forthcoming , published by Cornell University Press.