Examples of gunboat diplomacy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Are the President’s intentions actually colonial, or more simply a hostage-taking kind of gunboat diplomacy?
—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2026
On its face, the president’s Dec. 16 announcement was textbook gunboat diplomacy.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2025
Two centuries later, some classics never go out of style—gunboat diplomacy included.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
If the hope is that gunboat diplomacy will encourage Maduro to resign peacefully, the administration should be ramping up talks to seek a credible handover of power.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 2 Dec. 2025
Close to 200 years after first being used to assert geopolitical dominance, gunboat diplomacy is very much alive and well.
—Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2025
Trump has already brought back gunboat diplomacy by using the threat of force to coerce other countries into signing treaties on his terms; military threats helped obtain concessions from Canada and Mexico.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
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Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2026
On its face, the president’s Dec. 16 announcement was textbook gunboat diplomacy.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Dec. 2025
Two centuries later, some classics never go out of style—gunboat diplomacy included.
—Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
If the hope is that gunboat diplomacy will encourage Maduro to resign peacefully, the administration should be ramping up talks to seek a credible handover of power.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 2 Dec. 2025
Close to 200 years after first being used to assert geopolitical dominance, gunboat diplomacy is very much alive and well.
—Andrew Latham, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2025
Trump has already brought back gunboat diplomacy by using the threat of force to coerce other countries into signing treaties on his terms; military threats helped obtain concessions from Canada and Mexico.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gunboat diplomacy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gunboat%20diplomacy. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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