Aerial Strategies and their Effect on Conflict Characteristics

My dissertation focuses on the choice of aerial strategy by states in armed conflict, as well as aerial strategies’ effect on conflict outcomes.  In it I develop a system of categorizing close air support, interdiction and strategic attack based on how targeted (targeted in this case referring to an attack that focuses on  key, decisive targets that will have repercussions on other aspects of the enemy’s forces) the particular use of air power is.  Using newly-coded data ranging from the first uses of air power in conflict to the near-present, I model a state’s choice of aerial strategy, deriving and testing hypotheses on when different strategies are more likely to be used.  I also study the circumstances under which different types of aerial strategies are more likely to be successful, taking into account both the characteristics of the opponent and the strategies being used by ground troops.   My dissertation also builds on previous work on the subject by examining the effect of air strategy on war outcomes while controlling for ground strategies.

Dissertation Committee: Richard Stoll (Chair), Ashley Leeds, T. Clifton Morgan, Devika Subramanian (Computer Science Department).