Why Military Interventions Fail: An Historical Overview

Abstract

Military intervention occurs in cases where external powers have vested interests in the outcome of an internal conflict in any given state. Yet these interventions often end with the defeat or the frustration of the intervening power(s). Using a series of both historical and contemporary examples, this article provides a framework for understanding the factors that lead to failure in military intervention, and seeks to inform understanding on this complex and controversial aspect of statecraft.