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History vocabulary · Wars, Treaties and Diplomacy

Gunboat diplomacy

Meaning in history, with examples

nounCommon term

In history, gunboat diplomacy means: The use or threatened use of naval force to pressure another government into concessions.

In Turkish: gambot diplomasisi

How it is used

Usually describes coercion backed by warships rather than a full naval war.

Example sentences

  1. The squadron's arrival turned the debt dispute into gunboat diplomacy.

    Naval presence becomes pressure in a political negotiation.

  2. Port records helped her assess the practical limits of gunboat diplomacy.

    Coercion depends on what ships can actually do and sustain.

Common collocations

  • practise gunboat diplomacy
  • an episode of gunboat diplomacy
  • imperialismThe policy or practice of a state extending its power over other territories and peoples, through conquest, colonies or economic and political influence.
  • treatyA formal written agreement between two or more states, for example to end a war, settle borders or create an alliance.

More terms: Wars, Treaties and Diplomacy

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