Debating Drone Proliferation

Boyle, Michael J.; Horowitz, Michael C.; Kreps, Sarah E.; Fuhrmann, Matthew

doi:10.1162/isec_c_00308

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…Research on nuclear weapons drives most of the theory surrounding weapons proliferation (Braut-Hegghammer 2016; Gartzke et al 2013; Jo and Gartzke 2007; Paul 2000; Rublee 2009; Sagan 1996; Solingen 2009; Thayer 1995; Way and Weeks 2014). There is a relatively small but growing body of literature that examines the proliferation of newer conventional military technologies such as drones, as well as others that cover the proliferation of air and naval power (Andersson 2015; Bas and Coe 2012; Boyle et al 2017; Crisher and Souva 2014; Horowitz et al 2016; Milan 2020; Moltz 2012; Saunders and Souva 2020).…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Gets Smart? Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate

Kahn

Horowitz

2022

Journal of Conflict Resolution

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Smart weapons represent a key element of military power for countries around the world, and nothing symbolizes them more than smart bombs—the guided aerial bombs that the United States debuted in the Vietnam War. Yet, international relations scholars know little about these weapons and what explains their proliferation. In this paper, we theorize about the key drivers of smart bomb proliferation, including an interaction between the security environment, regime type, and the interest of states in precision to help them follow the law of war. We then introduce a new dataset on smart bombs from 1960-2017. The results show that internal and external security threats make countries more likely to acquire smart bombs. These effects interact with regime type and whether countries are more likely to ratify treaties related to the law of war. GDP per capita and economic capacity also appears fundamental to explaining smart bomb adoption.

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