We thought we were strengthening the militaries in the Cold War. In fact, the political effects of those strengthened militaries ended up leading to a longer-term deterioration and instability.

Adam Casey

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A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.

Adam E. Casey is an analyst in the United States government. He wrote Up in Arms: How Military Aid Stabilizes―and Destabilizes―Foreign Autocrats while he was a research fellow at the Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies at the University of Michigan. All the content in the book and this interview reflects the views of the author and does not reflect the position of any US government agency or department, nor does it assert or imply US government authentication of information or endorsement of the author's views.

Key Highlights

• Introduction - 0:20
• Why Military Aid Destabilizes Some Autocrats - 4:23
• The Soviet Approach to Military Aid - 21:50
• Revolutionary Governments - 29:09
• Modernization - 35:57

Key Links

Up in Arms: How Military Aid Stabilizes―and Destabilizes―Foreign Autocrats by Adam Casey

"The Origins of Military Supremacy in Dictatorships," by Dan Slater Lucan A. Way Jean Lachapelle and Adam E. Casey in Journal of Democracy.

Follow Adam Casey on X @adam_e_casey

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