Strategic Leverage is the ability to influence outcomes in negotiations or agreements through calculated ambiguity. It involves using unclear or flexible terms to create advantageous positions in diplomatic or business contexts. This tactic allows actors to maintain options and adapt strategies, enhancing their power in complex international relations.

Strategic Leverage matters because it empowers state and non-state actors to navigate complex geopolitical landscapes. By maintaining ambiguity, actors can secure favourable outcomes without committing to rigid positions, thus enhancing their influence and adaptability in international negotiations and policy-making processes.

Scholars of international relations argue that strategic leverage is a critical tool in asymmetric power dynamics, allowing less powerful actors to exert influence over more dominant ones. This concept is essential in understanding how countries from the Global South negotiate with more powerful states, maintaining sovereignty and achieving policy goals.