Replication Data for: Security Assistance for the Long Term: Economic Modernization and Institutionalized Military Professionalism

A central component of many Western security strategies is the professionalization of foreign militaries. Using security assistance doctrine and operational experience, Western advisors have achieved an appreciable level of competence in foreign security forces, but it is unclear whether this competence will last. This paper investigates the conditions under which military professionalism becomes institutionalized, using new data on over 150 countries from 1800 to 2005. An analysis of this data suggests that states with a relatively high level of economic modernization are more likely to achieve institutionalized military professionalism. While not surprising, this finding should give national strategic leaders pause before committing to train and equip the militaries of states with underdeveloped economies, and it should inform security assistance operations on the ground when circumstances dictate who the recipients of this assistance will be.