Who Gets Smart? Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate

Bibliographic Data

ID6285301
AuthorsLauren Kahn (0000-0003-4175-8865, The Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC, USA), Michael C Horowitz (0000-0002-3067-7157, University of Pennsylvania, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume67
Issue1
Pages3-37
Publication date2023-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00220027221111143
OpenAlexW4285006437
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited61

Smart weapons represent a key element of military power for countries around the world, and nothing symbolizes them more than smart bombs—the guided aerial bombs that the United States debuted in the Vietnam War. Yet, international relations scholars know little about these weapons and what explains their proliferation. In this paper, we theorize about the key drivers of smart bomb proliferation, including an interaction between the security environment, regime type, and the interest of states in precision to help them follow the law of war. We then introduce a new dataset on smart bombs from 1960-2017. The results show that internal and external security threats make countries more likely to acquire smart bombs. These effects interact with regime type and whether countries are more likely to ratify treaties related to the law of war. GDP per capita and economic capacity also appears fundamental to explaining smart bomb adoption

Business · Computer security · Economics · Element (criminal law · International trade · Key (lock · Nothing · Per capita · Political economy · Political science · Power (physics · Smart power · Sociology · Computer Science · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Economic Sanctions and International Relations · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law

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