What Do We Know About War?
At the WDWKAW conference (h/t @sbmitche) this weekend, @rosellacappella & I will share what we know about paying for war.
Summary 👇
[THREAD]
At the WDWKAW conference (h/t @sbmitche) this weekend, @rosellacappella & I will share what we know about paying for war.
Summary 👇
[THREAD]
In my recent @AnnualReviews piece, I touched on war finance being an emerging area of research in the Political Economy of Security:
annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.114…
annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.114…
War finance has long been directly studied by Economic Historians, such as the excellent @CambridgeUP volumes edited by @mark4harrison
International Relations scholars have always recognized the importance of financing war and the economic foundations of military power. For example, Waltz (1979) wrote that "economic capabilities cannot be separated from the other capabilities of states."
And war finance has been put forward as a mechanism for broader theoretical ideas. For example, @KSchultz3580 & Barry Weingast in @IntOrgJournal argue that superior means of financing may explain the "Democratic Advantage"
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
Or Branislav Slantchev used it to explain crisis bargaining breakdown in this American Political Science Review piece
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
cambridge.org/core/journals/…
But there was a lack of work by international relations scholars studying war financing itself. This was surprising. After all, money is the "sinew of war", right?
That lack of attention changed in the past half decade.
Work by...
That lack of attention changed in the past half decade.
Work by...
... and more (including more work by all of the above folks)
So what do we know based on all of this work?
We know a host of things, but (for me) two big findings stand out:
We know a host of things, but (for me) two big findings stand out:
First, there are a BUNCH of ways that states can pay for war, as well captured by this figure from @rosellacappella's book
Second, the most common means of war finance are Taxes and Debt.
And of these two, debt is the MOST common. This is well summarized by 3 key numbers from @rosellacappella's book:
And of these two, debt is the MOST common. This is well summarized by 3 key numbers from @rosellacappella's book:
Where do we need to know more?
@rosellacappella & I make the case for learning more about State-to-state war financing.
@rosellacappella & I make the case for learning more about State-to-state war financing.
Not military aid, per se. Scholars have studied that topic for quite some time. For example, 👇
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.117…
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.117…
But we need to know more about when the government of one state offer LOANS to the government of another state.
Classic examples include Lend-Lease...
Classic examples include Lend-Lease...
....and, well, part of the "military aid" package offered by 🇺🇸 to🇺🇦 (you know, the heart of the impeachment hearings)
@rosellacappella & I are exploring the US decision to grant loans to its "associated powers" during World War I as a means of having post-war bargaining leverage over 🇫🇷&🇬🇧
As Wilson wrote to House:
In sum, we know quite a bit about the political economy of war finance. This is good, since money is the "sinew of war"
But there is more that we know about war, and I'm looking forward to finding that out this weekend!
[END]
But there is more that we know about war, and I'm looking forward to finding that out this weekend!
[END]
