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SUMMARY:A Force for Bad: U.S. military aid\, isomorphism and military powe
 r in Egypt\, Jordan and Bahrain - Omar El-Nahry
DTSTART:20140520T121000Z
DTEND:20140520T130000Z
UID:TALK52146@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Katherine Bowers
DESCRIPTION:Why does a democratic country that has elevated the promotion 
 of democracy in the Middle East to one of its main objectives pay billions
  of dollars in military aid to repressive regimes and their militaries? In
  order to understand why U.S. military aid to Egypt\, Jordan and Bahrain p
 ersists despite their involvement in repression after the Arab Sping\, a n
 ovel way to look at the rationales behind military aid is needed. Instead 
 of bolstering the military as an external fighting force or promoting demo
 cracy\, military aid is a tool to achieve a different goal of U.S. policy 
 in the Middle East: the maintenance of stability and order\, It is a vehic
 le to create links between a powerful\, in some cases the most powerful\, 
 institution within Arab states and the U.S.\n \nBy selling modern equipmen
 t\, joint training and exercises\, military aid creates isomorphic structu
 res between foreign forces and the U.S. military and  a ‘professional ne
 twork’ between foreign officers and U.S. decision makers. This network f
 acilitates the emergence of shared mind-sets\, attitudes and personal link
 s that play an important role in times of crisis – it serves as a cost-e
 fficient way to ensure the continuity of crucial U.S. interest in the face
  of uncertainty. Paradoxically\, militaries that are more involved in the 
 politics\, economy and societies of their countries\, more likely than not
  posing an obstacle to democratisation\, are more likely to receive milita
 ry aid dollars than the ‘professional’ forces the very same assistance
  programmes are designed to support.
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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