Resource allocation and military budgetary politics in sub-Saharan Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	Resource allocation and military budgetary politics in sub-Saharan Africa
Author:	Dowdle, Andrew J.
Year:	2010
Periodical:	African security (ISSN 1939-2206)
Volume:	3
Issue:	2
Pages:	65-79
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:	defence policy armed forces public expenditure
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392206.2010.485508
Abstract:	While scholars have tried to explain the variation in spending by sub-Saharan African countries on conventional forces or auxiliary forces, no study has been done that compares the resource allocation process for both. This article proposes to rectify this oversight by comparing and contrasting the various factors that determine why countries spend money on certain types of security organizations. Two similar ordinary least squares regression models are constructed to measure the influence of certain variables on conventional and paramilitary strength. The analysis indicates that governments elect to spend more money on conventional forces when faced with military conflicts as opposed to potential threats. By contrast, inter-State conflicts suppress spending on irregular forces. The best predictor of State spending on auxiliary organizations involves domestic factors such as the existence of a civilian government. The most surprising finding is that spending on conventional and auxiliary forces is not always an 'either/or' decision. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract, edited]