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A Boom with Review

How Retrospective Oversight Increases the Foreign Policy Ability of Democracies

Bibliographic Data

ID11623980
AuthorsMichael Colaresi (0000-0001-9574-5723, Michigan State University, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume56
Issue3
Pages671-689
Publication date2012-02-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00567.x
OpenAlexW1480657384
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited53

In the ongoing debate concerning whether democracies can carry out effective national security policy, the role of transparency costs has received little attention. I argue for a more nuanced understanding of how some democracies that possess specific investigative institutions, such as national security–relevant freedom of information laws, legislative oversight powers, and press freedoms, are able to avoid the problems of which democracy skeptics warn. Using a new dataset on national security accountability institutions in democracies within a Bradley‐Terry framework, I find that national security oversight mechanisms raise the probability that a democracy wins international disputes as well as increasing the expected number of enemy casualties, as compared to democracies that lack effective oversight. Contra previous theories of foreign policy efficacy, I find that the chances for democratic foreign policy success are maximized when competitive elections are linked to institutions that increase the retrospective revelation of previously classified information

Accountability · Democracy · Economics · Foreign policy · Freedom of information · Law and economics · Legislature · National security · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Skepticism · Transparency (behavior · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Public Administration

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Unique citing works22
Citations per year1,83
Citation span2014 - 2025 (12)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 21
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