Salami tactics, also known as the salami-slice strategy, is a divide and conquer process of threats and alliances used to overcome opposition. With it, an aggressor can influence and eventually dominate a landscape, typically political, piece by piece. In this fashion, the "salami" is taken in slices, until one realizes (too late) that it's gone in its entirety. In some cases it includes the creation of several factions within the opposing political party and then dismantling that party from the inside, without causing the "sliced" sides to protest. According to the Dictionary of Modern Thought by Alan Bullock and Oliver Stallybrass,[1] the term was coined in the late 1940s by the Stalinist Mátyás Rákosi to describe the actions of the Hungarian Communist Party (szalámitaktika).[2] Rakosi claimed he came to power by getting his opposition to slice off its right wing, then its centrists, until only those collaborating with the Communists remained in power.[2][3]
This strategy was also used in the majority of Eastern European countries in the second half of the 1940s.
Similar tactics had been used previously by many different political parties and groups wishing to consolidate their power in various countries. For example, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party achieved absolute power in Germany within the early months of 1933 by squeezing out his conservative partners, after those conservative partners helped in the outlawing of Communists and Social Democrats and granting emergency powers to him.
The term "salami tactics" is also used in business and means that someone presents problems or solutions in pieces, and so it is hard to get the big picture.
The term "Salami Tactics" was used in the British Political Satire Yes Prime Minister in Series 1 Episode 1 "The Grand Design". In this television show, the Prime Minister's Chief Scientific Advisor opines that the Soviets won't suddenly invade Western Europe, but will annex areas slice by slice and thus Prime Minister Jim Hacker realizes he will never push the nuclear button to stop the Soviets.[2]
Examples of salami tactics can also be found in the consumer marketplace, for example the planned obsolescence of automobile makers, in which newer vehicle models are introduced every year. In consumer electronics hardware and software, frequent small changes are often made to lure customers into purchasing intermediate products. Another well-known exponent of salami tactics in product pricing is perhaps the Irish airline Ryanair, which has become infamous for its headlined cheap fares to which arrays of additional costs are added slice by slice: fees are charged for baggage check-in, issuance of boarding cards, payment by credit card, priority boarding, web check-in, etc.
See also
References
- ^ Bullock, Alan, edited by Alan Bullock and Oliver Stallybrass The Harper dictionary of modern thought, Harper & Row, 1977.
- ^ a b c Time Magazine. Hungary: Salami Tactics Time Magazine, April 14, 1952.
- ^ Safire, William, Safire's Political Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2008 (revised), p.639, ISBN 0195343344, ISBN 9780195343342.
Further reading
- Horvath, John. 2000. Salami Tactics, Telepolis, at Heise.de online. Retrieved July 11, 2005.
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