Conceptualizing caveats for political research: Defining and measuring national reservations on the use of force during military operations

Abstract

The upsurge in post-Cold War coalition operations has stimulated research on phenomena resembling national reservations on the use of force – caveats – in multinational military operations. However, because the concept of caveats has no agreed-upon definition among security scholars, the concept of caveats is used inconsistently which in turn impedes comparing research findings across studies and systematic research. The present article is a contribution to the scholarly debate on how caveats as national reservations on the use of force in military coalition operations are to be delimited. We also suggest that caveats are empirically observed and measured in two ways: First, we argue that coalition rules of engagement (ROE) be used as a yardstick for measuring direct reservations on the use of force. Second, we suggest reservations on task-assignment and geographical mobility be used to register indirect reservations.