International Influences on Security Forces

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

From colonization to recent military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, foreign actors have played a key role in the creation, organization, and reform of domestic security forces, such as the military and police. Some interventions are invited by governments seeking to shape and manipulate security structures to their advantage; others are imposed, favoring the strategic goals of international actors. This panel aims to unpack the objectives and outcomes of military cooperation and foreign intervention, answering questions such as: Under what conditions do foreign actors–such as other states or international organizations–seek to reform a country’s domestic security institutions? When do these efforts succeed, and what are their long-term effects? Conversely, how might domestic governments try to exploit foreign intervention to serve their own ends, such as coup-proofing and ensuring their political survival? In addition to analyzing the strategic logic of international intervention in security institutions, the panel draws attention to important but understudied forms of military intervention short of direct combat—including embedded military advisers, logistics operations, and direct outside involvement in military recruitment, command structures, and operational strategy.

Sub Unit

• Division 21: Conflict Processes

Individual Presentations

• The Design Dilemma: Ethnic Stacking and the Formation of Colonial Militaries - Julia Raven, University of California, Berkeley

• Avoiding the Coup-Proofing Dilemma: Invited Interventions in Africa and Beyond - Aila M. Matanock, University of California, San Diego; Andrew Wojtanik, University of California - Berkeley

• Understanding Persistent Interventions in Civil Wars - Sevdenur Koru, Temple University

• Advising War: US Security Assistance and Military Effectiveness in Ukraine - Alexandra Chinchilla, Texas A&M, Bush School of Govt and Public Service

Chair

• Christopher F. Gelpi The Ohio State University

Discussants

• Christopher F. Gelpi The Ohio State University

• Renanah M. Joyce Georgetown University