Militarization and Interstate Armed Conflict

• In Event: Poster Session: New Perspectives in Political Science Research: Scholarship by Vanderbilt REU Students

Abstract

While many studies have focused on the impact of economic interdependence, democracy, and gender inequality on conflict, the impact of militarization is unclear. I investigate the relationship between militarization and armed interstate conflict to determine if increases in militarization are correlated with interstate conflict. When a country experiences a short-term increase in militarization, their increased fighting capacity makes them more inclined to use non-diplomatic avenues to resolve disputes. Through this mechanism, I hypothesize that increases in militarization will be positively correlated with the onset of interstate conflict. I expect this to hold for both initiators and targets; even when a state does not initiate the conflict. Using the Global Militarization Index and UCDP data on interstate armed conflict from 1946-2021 for 89 countries, I compare the difference in militarization between the current year and the prior 3 years to determine if there is a correlation between an increase in militarization and interstate armed conflict.

Author

• Maya Mikelson, University of California, Berkeley