Policing insurgency: are more militarized police more effective?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Is militarized policing an effective way to combat insurgency? This article uses new global data on policing practices to evaluate whether states with militarized police perform better than those without them. The analysis provides no evidence that militarized police are an asset in counterinsurgency. Indeed, states with militarized units within their national or federal-level police are generally less likely to achieve favorable counterinsurgency outcomes. In explaining these findings, the article emphasizes that while militarization provides police with greater coercive capacity, it also impedes information collection and contributes to indiscriminate violence that can fuel additional dissent.