Civil-Military Relations
Prominent global development scholars have cited the importance of local and national institutions in shaping political, social, and economic outcomes of countries throughout the world. Often in developing and post-conflict societies, the military represents one of the strongest institutions available to influence the political, social and economic conditions. A greater understanding of the intricate relationship between a country’s military forces and the society in which they serve potentially lends itself to a better understanding of the complex nature of global development.
To date, little publically available data exist with regard to global militaries, preventing researchers from empirically exploring the impact of civil-military relations. This lack of clarity on intra-country military locations and distributions presents an obstacle to social scientists and researchers seeking to explore this influential institution. Furthermore, no simple methodology currently exists to collate this information, making it expensive in terms of time and labor for an individual researcher.
This project seeks to overcome this challenge. By employing various lines of research, including investigation of news media, GIS resources, and other publicly available sources, the IPD Civil-Military Data Team seeks to understand how various countries structure their military forces, create panel datasets of military geolocations, employ GIS tools to empower researchers, and to begin exploring the role of civil-military relationships in the developing world.
To date, little publically available data exist with regard to global militaries, preventing researchers from empirically exploring the impact of civil-military relations. This lack of clarity on intra-country military locations and distributions presents an obstacle to social scientists and researchers seeking to explore this influential institution. Furthermore, no simple methodology currently exists to collate this information, making it expensive in terms of time and labor for an individual researcher.
This project seeks to overcome this challenge. By employing various lines of research, including investigation of news media, GIS resources, and other publicly available sources, the IPD Civil-Military Data Team seeks to understand how various countries structure their military forces, create panel datasets of military geolocations, employ GIS tools to empower researchers, and to begin exploring the role of civil-military relationships in the developing world.