scholarly journals Democracy, external threat, and military spending

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 205316802110496
Author(s):  
Matthew Hauenstein ◽  
Matthew Smith ◽  
Mark Souva
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regime Type ◽  
External Threat ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship

A number of studies find that democracies spend less on their military than non-democracies. Yet there are well known counter-examples, including but not limited to the United States and Israel. We contend that these counter-examples are part of a larger pattern. The relationship between regime type and military spending is conditional on external threat. Among countries that do not perceive a significant external threat to their interests, democracies allocate considerably less to the military than non-democracies. However, democracies with a significant external threat do not allocate less to the military than non-democracies. The reason prior research consistently finds that democracies, on average, spend less on the military, even while controlling for external threat, is that democracies are much less likely to have a high external threat. For example, autocracies are nearly twice as likely as democracies to have a significant external threat in our sample. An empirical analysis of military spending from 1952–2000 is consistent with these expectations.

Militias and the Iraqi State

2020 ◽  
pp. 100-118
Author(s):  
Idean Salehyan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
State Agents ◽  
Governance Strategy ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

According to conventional wisdom, states have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within their territories, and delegate its operation to closely held state agents such as the military and police. Yet when faced with insurgencies, states often enlist the support of paramilitary organizations or militias. The competence–control tradeoff is especially stark in these cases, as states depend on capable militias to fight insurgents, but also risk losing control over them. This chapter examines the tradeoff in light of the relationship between militia groups and the Iraqi government. To bring a semblance of security to Iraq, both the United States and the Iraqi government used paramilitary groups such as the Sons of Iraq and the Kurdish Peshmerga. Following the withdrawal of US troops, the government has become increasingly beholden to Shia militias, yet the case defies a simple, sectarian logic. This chapter examines the choice of governance strategy vis-à-vis militias in Iraq, and changes in that strategy over time, providing insights into the governor’s dilemma, counterinsurgency strategy, and state formation.

Military Expenditures and Economic Growth

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Paul Dunne ◽  
Nan Tian
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

The literature on military spending and growth has become extremely large and diverse and has reached no clear consensus. This lack of consensus should not be unexpected, because there are a number of issues that make the empirical analysis of the relationship difficult to undertake and make it difficult to identify the particular impact of military spending on growth. Some of these issues have had relatively little attention in the literature. The historical context can affect the military spending and growth relation, so there is no reason not to expect different results for different periods. There are various theoretical perspectives that can be used in any analysis and numerous channels through which military spending can affect growth, which means that studies can differ in how they specify the models. In estimating models, a range of econometric techniques have been used, which can affect the results. There also remain issues of identification that present problems for empirical analysis. The observed correlation between output and military expenditure is likely to be negative if the system is driven by strategic shocks and positive if it is driven by economic shocks. Improved military spending data and the existence of some shocks, such as the end of the Cold War, is helping in dealing with identification, but it still remains a concern. Overall, more recent studies show that, in general, it is much more likely that military spending has a negative effect on economic growth than was evident in the past. The issues involved in undertaking any empirical analysis on military spending and growth mean that the debate is likely to continue.

Sizing up the Peace Dividend: Economic Growth and Military Spending in the United States, 1948–1996

1992 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 748-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Ward ◽  
David R. Davis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
International System ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
The United States ◽  
Defense Spending ◽  
Economic Output ◽  
Peace Dividend ◽  
Military Expenditures ◽  
The Relationship

We examine the relationship between military expenditures and economic growth in the United States from 1948 to 1990, in order to gauge the potential peace dividend. Our main results suggest that military spending is a significant drain on the economy. We then examine the implications of a restructured international system for U.S. military expenditures and their resultant impact on economic growth in the 1990s. Simulations of Democratic and Republican proposals for cuts in defense spending suggest increases in economic output of between 2.5% and 4.5% over the period 1993–96.

scholarly journals Hands Across The Atlantic?

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Young ◽  
Peggy Crawford
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War ◽  
Military Campaign ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Great Burden ◽  
The Eu

The war in Iraq created a division between the United States and some members of the European Union. The war also split the EU, with France and Germany leading the anti-war camp and Britain, Italy, Portugal, and Spain supporting Washington. With organized warfare over, the United States has shifted its attention from the military campaign to the installation of a legitimate and stable government in Iraq. However, the administration of post-war Iraq has caused the division between the US and Europe to widen.The multilateralists, France and Germany, are demanding a central role for the UN in rebuilding Iraq. France, in particular, believes that the task should be left to the UN alone. They suggest this would help legitimize what they consider to be an illegal war. On the other hand, the US, which accepted a great burden with the pre-emptive attack on Iraq, wants the UN to have a vital but limited role in post-war Iraq. The US believes that the UN needs serious repair before any responsibilities can be handed to it.This study examines the economic, political, and security implications of the division between these old allies. The relationship between the US and EU is based on years of cooperation. Both sides know that they must mend fences sooner rather than later. We contend that pragmatism will triumph over geo-politics.

Abusive Men's Use of Children to Control Their Partners and Ex-Partners

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa L. Beeble ◽  
Deborah Bybee ◽  
Cris M. Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Multiple Variables ◽  
The Relationship

While research has found that millions of children in the United States are exposed to their mothers being battered, and that many are themselves abused as well, little is known about the ways in which children are used by abusers to manipulate or harm their mothers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that perpetrators use children in a variety of ways to control and harm women; however, no studies to date have empirically examined the extent of this occurring. Therefore, the current study examined the extent to which survivors of abuse experienced this, as well as the conditions under which it occurred. Interviews were conducted with 156 women who had experienced recent intimate partner violence. Each of these women had at least one child between the ages of 5 and 12. Most women (88%) reported that their assailants had used their children against them in varying ways. Multiple variables were found to be related to this occurring, including the relationship between the assailant and the children, the extent of physical and emotional abuse used by the abuser against the woman, and the assailant's court-ordered visitation status. Findings point toward the complex situational conditions by which assailants use the children of their partners or ex-partners to continue the abuse, and the need for a great deal more research in this area.

The United States and the Iranian Nuclear Programme

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Hurst
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nixon Administration ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nuclear Issue ◽  
The Relationship

The United States, Iran and the Bomb provides the first comprehensive analysis of the US-Iranian nuclear relationship from its origins through to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. Starting with the Nixon administration in the 1970s, it analyses the policies of successive US administrations toward the Iranian nuclear programme. Emphasizing the centrality of domestic politics to decision-making on both sides, it offers both an explanation of the evolution of the relationship and a critique of successive US administrations' efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear programme, with neither coercive measures nor inducements effectively applied. The book further argues that factional politics inside Iran played a crucial role in Iranian nuclear decision-making and that American policy tended to reinforce the position of Iranian hardliners and undermine that of those who were prepared to compromise on the nuclear issue. In the final chapter it demonstrates how President Obama's alterations to American strategy, accompanied by shifts in Iranian domestic politics, finally brought about the signing of the JCPOA in 2015.

The Washington Consensus, liberal ideas and terms of the military-technological policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 2103-2123
Author(s):  
V.L. Gladyshevskii ◽  
E.V. Gorgola ◽  
D.V. Khudyakov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Production Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
Industrial Complexes ◽  
The Military

Subject. In the twentieth century, the most developed countries formed a permanent military economy represented by military-industrial complexes, which began to perform almost a system-forming role in national economies, acting as the basis for ensuring national security, and being an independent military and political force. The United States is pursuing a pronounced militaristic policy, has almost begun to unleash a new "cold war" against Russia and to unwind the arms race, on the one hand, trying to exhaust the enemy's economy, on the other hand, to reindustrialize its own economy, relying on the military-industrial complex. Objectives. We examine the evolution, main features and operational distinctions of the military-industrial complex of the United States and that of the Russian Federation, revealing sources of their military-technological and military-economic advancement in comparison with other countries. Methods. The study uses military-economic analysis, scientific and methodological apparatus of modern institutionalism. Results. Regulating the national economy and constant monitoring of budget financing contribute to the rise of military production, especially in the context of austerity and crisis phenomena, which, in particular, justifies the irrelevance of institutionalists' conclusions about increasing transaction costs and intensifying centralization in the industrial production management with respect to to the military-industrial complex. Conclusions. Proving to be much more efficient, the domestic military-industrial complex, without having such access to finance as the U.S. military monopolies, should certainly evolve and progress, strengthening the coordination, manageability, planning, maximum cost reduction, increasing labor productivity, and implementing an internal quality system with the active involvement of the State and its resources.

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