Pauline Whitby's "The Lost Kafoozalum" (as by Pauline Ashwell) (novella, free): To stop war, introduce a common menace

Bits of it are very good, particularly in the middle. But it starts off in a very tangent way & parts near end get draggy. Presentation is unusual for the period & refreshing.

Story summary.

An isolated human world somewhere has two factions near a war, so earth decides to help - in an indirect way. By faking a common menace so the two warring sides will be forced to join hands...

Fact sheet.

First published: Analog, October 1960.
Download full text from Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, Internet Archive.
Rating: B.
Nominated for Hugo award 1961 in short fiction category.
Among the stories in Astounding/Analog issues edited John Campbell.