Do arms have influence? Exploring the effect of transferred weapons` military capabilities on recipients` level of foreign policy cooperation

摘要

This thesis investigates the impact of transferred weapons’ military capabilities onrecipients’ level of foreign policy cooperation. While previous research use financial data toassess the impact of transferred arms, I directly look at the technical characteristics of deliveredweapons in order to evaluate their effect on importer states’ behavior. I partially draw onFearon’s (1998) theory of foreign policy cooperation and extend it. Particularly, in my theory Iconsider both formal and informal cooperation processes. I argue that recipients take intoaccount the type and sophistication level of transferred weapons while deciding whether toadjust their foreign policies or not. The results of statistical analyses suggest that thisproposition holds for some categories of arms while not for the others. Namely, theoreticalexpectations were supported statistically for aircraft category in general and transport aircraftin particular. By using new measure for the evaluation of weapon shipments, the findings of theproject contribute to scholarly literature on arms transfers, influence and foreign policydecision-making.