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Negative Returns: U.S. Military Policy and Anti-American Terrorism

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  • Eugen Dimant
  • Tim Krieger
  • Daniel Meierrieks

Abstract

We investigate the effect of U.S. military aid and U.S. troop deployments on anti-American terrorism, using a sample of 106 countries between 1986 and 2011. We find that greater military commitment leads to more anti-American terrorism. We study the underlying mechanisms using a mediation analysis and show that both U.S. military aid and troop deployments in foreign countries do not improve local state capacity. Rather, we find that more military aid (but not troop deployments) is linked to poorer political-institutional outcomes in aid-receiving countries, explaining the positive association between U.S. military aid and anti-American terrorism. Our findings suggest that U.S. military policy does not make the United States safer from transnational terrorism.

Suggested Citation

  • Eugen Dimant & Tim Krieger & Daniel Meierrieks, 2017. "Negative Returns: U.S. Military Policy and Anti-American Terrorism," Economics Working Papers 17106, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
    • Handle: RePEc:hoo:wpaper:17106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oeindrila Dube & Suresh Naidu, 2010. "Bases, Bullets, and Ballots: The Effect of U.S. Military Aid on Political Conflict in Colombia," Working Papers 197, Center for Global Development.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    U.S. military aid; U.S. troop deployments; anti-American terrorism; transnational terrorism; mediation analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid
    • F50 - International Economics - - International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy - - - General

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