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.

诸多西方安全战略的核心组成部分之一，是推动外国军队的职业化建设。西方军事顾问依托安全援助准则与行动实践经验，已帮助外国安全部队达成了可观的能力建设成果，但尚不清楚这类能力能否持续留存。本研究借助1800年至2005年间覆盖150余个国家的全新数据集，探究军事职业化得以制度化的前提条件。对该数据集的分析结果表明，经济现代化水平相对较高的国家，更有可能实现军事职业化的制度化建设。尽管这一发现并不出人意料，但它应当促使各国战略决策者在承诺为经济欠发达国家军队提供训练与装备支持前三思而行；同时，在实际场景需要确定安全援助对象时，该研究结论也可为实地安全援助行动提供决策依据。