The Impact of U.S. Security Partnerships on Democracy and Governance in Africa
Abstract
This paper analyzes the relationship between U.S. security partnerships and democracy and governance trends in Africa from 2005 to 2020. Overall, our findings are mixed in that there is either no relationship or a weak negative relationship between U.S. security cooperative activities and democratic quality in Africa. When looking closely at the potential mechanisms that drive this relationship, we find that U.S. military assistance can have a positive impact on governance; however, the impact on accountability and transparency are negatively affected by over-militarization of assistance. Specifically, as the proportion of U.S.-provided military assistance relative to the overall amount of development assistance increases, the negative impact of assistance on accountability indicators increases significantly. To tease this out further, we juxtapose Chads emergence as a central partner in countering violent extremism in the Sahel with its democratic stagnation and failures. The paper shows that as U.S. security assistance increased relative to the overall amount of development assistance provided to Chad, democratic indicators deteriorated, or in some cases stagnated. Our findings suggest that a whole-of-government approach to security assistance that balances a country's security needs with support to grow its democratic institutions may help mitigate some of the negative effects of security cooperation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1225012
Entities
People
- Dorina A. Bekoe
- Stephanie M. Burchard
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses