U.S. Military Contacts Linked to State Liberalization, 1972–2000

Why This Study Matters

Carol Atkinson investigates whether transnational military-to-military interactions function as a channel of democratic political socialization. Military organizations are uniquely positioned to transmit ideas across borders because military personnel share professional norms and influence core institutions of the state. Showing that such contacts correlate with liberalizing outcomes would demonstrate that ideational, constructivist mechanisms can produce observable changes in state behavior.

What Socialization Looks Like

Atkinson frames socialization as a three-level process: (1) individuals within militaries acquire new ideas and identities through contact; (2) coercion, incentives, and persuasion help institutionalize those ideas within state structures; and (3) once institutionalized, those ideas reshaped state practices and the ideational contours of international society. The study focuses specifically on U.S. military-to-military engagement as a source of these interactions.

Data and Methods

• An original cross-national dataset covering more than 160 states from 1972 to 2000 is employed.
• Duration models (Cox proportional hazards) are used to examine whether greater U.S. military contact is associated with subsequent liberalizing changes in states.
• Analyses test the systematic relationship between military engagement and trends toward political liberalization while accounting for timing and risk of change.

Key Findings

• Atkinson finds a positive, systematic association between U.S. military-to-military contacts and liberalizing trends in recipient states over the 1972–2000 period.
• The results are presented as evidence that ideational processes—here transmitted through military engagement—can have measurable effects on state-level political outcomes.

What This Means for Theory and Policy

The findings bolster constructivist claims that material interactions (military engagement) can produce ideational change with political consequences. For scholars, the study highlights the military as a consequential channel of cross-border socialization; for policymakers, it underscores that security cooperation can carry broader political implications beyond immediate defense objectives.