The Postwar Security Governance Dataset (PSGD) includes data on the governance of the security forces in all states that have experienced a major civil war and subsequent peace between 1960 and 2012. Focusing on military forces in postwar countries, it includes indicators for their composition, civilian control and oversight, and adherence to the rule of law. It enables quantitative, cross-national analysis of the determinants of security governance after war, and its effects on peace, security, and development. The dataset is used in my book, Governing Security After War: The Politics of Institutional Change in the Security Sector and in my article in the Journal of Conflict Resolution "Civil-Military Relations and Civil War Recurrence."
The PSGD Dataset, along with a detailed description and coding notes, can be found here. Please contact me for updated data, or for further information about the data.
The PSGD Dataset, along with a detailed description and coding notes, can be found here. Please contact me for updated data, or for further information about the data.
The Defense Oversight Institutions Dataset will measure the professionalism and politicization of defense institutions across countries. Research on civil-military relations has highlighted the central role of defense institutions in shaping the capability and behavior of armed forces, with consequences for battlefield effectiveness as well as the risk of civil war, coups d’etat, and human rights abuse. Defense oversight institutions may also shape the interactions between states, through the effectiveness of international security assistance and cooperation, arms sales, and military-to-military engagements. Yet there are few cross-national measures of these institutions. This project will draw on open-source government and non-governmental sources and recent advances in natural language processing and machine learning to create a global, quantitative dataset of defense oversight institutions. The data will enable research on the evolution of defense oversight institutions, on the effects of defense institutions on peace and security, and on the effectiveness of security cooperation, among other topics. This dataset is currently under development.