Publications
Military and Strategic Affairs, Volume 3, No. 3, December 2011
Strategic ambiguity has an honored place in the mores of statecraft. The studied unwillingness of states to say what they have done (or would do) coupled with the lack of proof that they have done it (or would do it) liberates other states. They can argue that something was done, but if their purposes so dictate, they can pretend that it was not done. The degree of doubt can vary: from thorough (no one is sure what has happened or would happen) to nominal (no one is fooled). In either case, however, those who did it have provided a fig leaf, however translucent, that other states can adopt.
The opinions expressed in INSS publications are the authors’ alone.