Arms for reforms: The effectiveness of U.S. military assistance at encouraging human rights reforms

The United States provides billions of dollars in military assistance to foreign governments each year. Military assistance is intended primarily to improve the stability and security of strategic partners, but a stated purpose of these programs is also to influence the domestic policies of the recipient governments with respect to human rights. Given the importance of a modern military force to regimes, especially in the developing world, these large grants and loans should give U.S. policy makers significant leverage to force improvements in human rights practices by repressive regimes. However, an analysis of military aid and human rights records since 1976 reveals that the use and effectiveness of this leverage is mitigated by higher strategic priorities dictated by the structural dynamics of the international system, particularly the Cold War and the Global War on Terror.