Blockade and Geopolitics

Blockade has been a successful tactic of war, limited war, and geopolitics, but is it still an effective measure? There are three types of blockades: belligerent blockade, which occurs in cases of total war; pacific blockade, which is a form of limited war and can be used as a measure short of war; and “limited blockade.” Although similar to the pacific blockade, the limited blockade has important differences: the pacific blockade is short‐term and specific (e.g., the quarantine of Cuba during the Missile Crisis), whereas the limited blockade is longer‐term and more general (e.g., the British blockade of the Falk‐lands). A limited blockade, in short, could ban all items in the pursuit of limited objectives in a limited geographical area. New technologies (e.g., cruise missiles, large area real‐time surveillance, V/STOL aircraft, etc.) make it easier to impose a limited blockade. However, in a democracy, even a limited blockade must have popular support if it is to be successful. Consequently, a blockade should not be imposed unless there is sufficient provocation to establish a long‐term political consensus in favor of it.