In Schelling’s phrasing, it uses brute force to seize the defenders’ territory and then relies primarily on deterrence to persuade them to accept the new reality. The fait accompli is thus a classic limited war strategy of a weaker power. Unlike a strategy that relies almost exclusively on force—which requires that the attacker enjoy military superiority over all its opponents—the fait accompli leaves at least some of the initiative with the defenders, wagering that enough of the attacker’s opponents will elect concession as the more prudent course.
