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Exporting Influence: U.S. Military Training as Soft Power

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  • Carla Martinez Machain

Abstract

The US engages in extensive training and education of foreign militaries, often through exchange programs carried out at the different military services’ staff and war colleges. Researchers have recently explored the way in which military training can affect civil-military relations in the host country, but not much work has studied whether military training actually leads to increased US influence in these states. This paper proposes a soft-power theoretical framework to argue that foreign military training can create affinity for the U.S. that can in turn result in more pro-U.S. voting behavior in the UN General Assembly. It further expands on the military training literature by distinguishing between different military training programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Carla Martinez Machain, 2021. "Exporting Influence: U.S. Military Training as Soft Power," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(2-3), pages 313-341, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:65:y:2021:i:2-3:p:313-341
    DOI: 10.1177/0022002720957713
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Allen, Michael A. & Flynn, Michael E. & Machain, Carla Martinez & Stravers, Andrew, 2020. "Outside the Wire: U.S. Military Deployments and Public Opinion in Host States," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 114(2), pages 326-341, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Theodore McLauchlin & Lee JM Seymour & Simon Pierre Boulanger Martel, 2022. "Tracking the rise of United States foreign military training: IMTAD-USA, a new dataset and research agenda," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 59(2), pages 286-296, March.
    2. Ilker Kalin & Marie Olson Lounsbery & Frederic Pearson, 2022. "Major power politics and non-violent resistance movements," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 39(3), pages 241-265, May.
    3. Kadir Jun Ayhan, 2023. "Soft power is rare in world politics: Ruling out fear- and appetite-based compliance," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(4), pages 476-486, December.

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