ScholarOne - THE IMPORTANCE OF DEFENSE DIPLOMACY FOR ARMED CONFLICT RESOLUTION

This paper highlights the importance of defense diplomacy as a peaceful and non-violent instrument for crisis prevention and armed conflict resolution, which is crucial for easing military-political tensions and reducing confrontation. Furthermore, the main functions of defense diplomacy are revealed, and their importance in efforts to de-escalate military-political tensions is explained. This paper explores the role of defense diplomacy activities in conflict prevention and resolution, with a main emphasis on strategic engagement. Then, crisis and conflict prevention are analyzed as part of noncombat military operations conducted to engage the parties involved in the effort to prevent, contain, or terminate a conflict and reconcile belligerent parties. This paper suggests some basic defense diplomacy features and presents a case study of defense diplomacy between Russia and Turkey. Finally, this article concludes that defense diplomacy can be a powerful tool for conducting peaceful, non-violent, and non-coercive operations for crisis prevention and conflict resolution.