Onyema Wachuku

POLI 388

Student Research Project Outline

Topic: Falklands Conflict

I.   Players or Actors:     

o Argentina        

o United Kingdom         

o Minor Players – United States (Argentina thought that through dealings with Nicaraguan Contra, the U.S would stay out.), United Nations      

IV.
History of Conflict/What lead to War:       

o The Falklands War, also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom (UK) over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Falkland Islands consist of two large and many small islands in the South Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina; their name and sovereignty over them have long been disputed.       

II. Payoff            

o The Falklands Island and International and Domestic Prestige.        

IV.Nature of Strategic Interaction: DEFENSE, DETERRENCE, AND COMPELLENCE:
THREATS AND PROMISES         

o Admiral Jorge Anaya. Anaya would be the main architect and supporter of a military solution for the long standing claim over the islands, calculating that the United Kingdom would never respond militarily. In doing so the Galtieri government hoped to mobilize Argentines' long-standing patriotic feelings towards the islands and thus divert public attention from the country's chronic economic problems and the regime's ongoing human rights violations. Such action would also bolster its dwindling legitimacy.  

o Britain was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands.           

VII.           Choices          

o At first the actors specifically Argentina operated in secret.  

o United Kingdom was largely in the dark       

III.Communication, Intelligence and Deception         

o Argentina exerted pressure at the United Nations by raising subtle hints of a possible invasion, but the British either missed or ignored this threat and did not react. The Argentines assumed that the British would not use force if the islands were invaded.            

o During the conflict, there were no formal diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina, so negotiations were carried out in a rather indirect way, and via third parties who spoke with one then with the other party.  

III.Credible Commitments, Threats and Promises    

o British attempted to end conflict through diplomacy             

o Argentina were committed to military means to ensure victory        

III.Clearly this is an unresolved conflict despite the United Kingdom’s victory. The Argentines still feel they have a stake in the islands and the British will not budge on their stance.