ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a larger study involving several case studies, covering the several stages of intervention in each case, as well as cross-case assessments on each of the stages. It explains key concepts and definitions to establish the basis for the comparative case analysis. The chapter considers the significance of the study, both with respect to the prospects of military intervention in the post-Cold War era and in defining a broader continuing research agenda related to force and diplomacy. It focuses on three clusters of factors: the international (strategic, regional), the domestic (intervening state), and the indigenous (target state). The target countries have been both distant ones and neighbors. The local allies have been both incumbent regimes and insurgents. The key commonality is that each involved a protracted foreign military intervention —longer, more costly, and less successful than expected based on the power preponderance of the intervenor.
