Internal Security Threats Research Articles

How Can Classical War Philosophies Solve Modern Security Challenges?

As the world is moving into the third decade of the 21st century, it is ever more filled with uncertainties and complexities per se. The scope of security agencies has grown beyond just protecting the state from external and internal security threats. Instead, military forces have to face a whole new domain of security challenges, unlike those from a few centuries ago. Irregular and hybrid warfare has replaced the conventional way of battlefield confrontation between the state armies. The global rise in insurgency, terrorism, civil wars, failed states, and humanitarian crises have made the security landscape even more volatile. In this context, modern problems require modern solutions. However, most of these contemporary solutions to our security challenges can be traced back to classical war philosophies. This article attempts to explain the emerging forms of conflicts and irregular security threats, and how those war theories and strategies are more effective in managing them. It starts by reviewing the key ideas of selected classical military thinkers such as Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Frederick II, Clausewitz, Jomini, and Liddell Hart. The latter part of the article discusses their present relevance and analyses recurring American experiences with low-intensity conflicts like insurgency and terrorism from the perspective of classical war philosophies. It is observed that the statesmen and military planners of today can still find inspiration in the age-old battlefield concepts, such as political-military relationship, intelligence, deception, indirect approach, battle avoidance, and center of gravity, to resolve conflicts and improve the condition of global peace.

Modernizing or equalizing? Defence budget and military modernization in the Philippines, 2010 – 2020

ABSTRACT The Republic Act (R.A.) 10,349, otherwise known as the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program, is a recapturing of the AFP’s initial efforts at modernizing. Successor to R.A. 7898, the document reorients the priorities and the fiscal responsibilities of the Philippine government in ensuring the modernization of the armed forces into the twenty-first century. The concept of modernization 25 years onward has matured but it has barely deepened in implementation much to the detriment of AFP itself. Despite warnings of external security threats, the study has found nominal evidence hinting at the defence budget’s continuous prioritization of internal security threats. The study has likewise found that modernization funds set forth by R.A. 10,349 are not utilized to “modernize” the armed forces in the truest sense of the word. The study recommends addressing this issue of prioritization before any further attempt at military modernization.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Counter Insurgency (COIN) Operations in the Northeast of Nigeria : Imperative of Technology

Boko Haram insurgency brings with it unprecedented consequences, particularly in records of multiple deaths and devastating effects on socio-economic dynamics of the nation. Since no state would stay without responding to threats to its national security, the federal government of Nigeria adopted both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to counter the impact of terrorism on its shores. With several attacks from Boko Haram and the resultant consequences in terms of deaths, displacement and economic damages, the group has remained a potent force particularly in the North East and the Sahel region. In the midst of these contending realities is the Corona Virus Disease (COVID -19) that broke out from Wuhan, China in December 2019. Within the space of few months, the outbreak spiraled into a public health emergency and global pandemic; with rapid spread, high casualty rate and negative impacts on global health and economy. Accordingly, Nigeria like other nations was hit by the virus, causing disruption in its already fragile economy coupled with internal security threats. As a measure of containment, the global lockdown measures resulted in less economic patronage which translated into vulnerabilities like crime rate increase. While other countries were seeking answers to the question of health security, Nigeria was faced with the double tragedy of Boko Haram on one hand; and health insecurity on the other with attendant consequences. In this view, application of technology in combating insecurity as well as health emergencies will be the way to go, particularly, in a world that is technologically driven. This paper examines the imperative of technology in counter insurgency operations. It will adopt the historical approach in its analysis to build a pragmatic approach to reversing the trend.

Chemical Safety of Poland and the European Union and the Activities of the National Tax Administration

Aim: This article attempts to present the issues related to the strengthening of chemical, ecological and environmental safety as an essential component of the safety of citizens and the activities of public authorities, on the example of the activities of the National Tax Administration. Introduction: Currently, over 100 thou. chemical products are used in production and consumption. Therefore, ensuring chemical safety is a priority, taking into account the fact that further civilization development determines maintaining this number at a similar or higher level, which enables greater mobility of societies, as well as providing food for a mass growing population. We encounter illegal activities involving the use of chemicals almost every day, which is an increasing threat to international security and peace in the world, further escalating hybrid threats. Chemical safety is essential for eco- logical safety, it guarantees the necessary cleanliness of the environment, and moreover, it is inextricably linked with the health safety of the societies. Ensuring chemical safety and compliance with the environmental protection standards is one of the objectives of the National Tax Administration, which translates directly into the protection of Poland’s borders against environmental, chemical and general international security threats. Methodology: The work includes a synthetic review of basic literature based on guidelines, regulations and directives, both national and European. The current achievements in the area of chemical safety applied in national bodies and the implementation of EU legal acts for the security of Poland were summarized. Conclusions: Based on the analysis and synthesis of the literature review, the effectiveness of the activities of customs and tax authorities in Poland and the European Union in ensuring chemical and environmental safety was assessed. The role of Poland as a border country exposed to smuggling from the eastern direction deserves special attention. Keywords: chemical safety, National Tax Administration (KAS), REACH, CLP, PIC Type of article: review article

Challenges for Security Threat of Ethiopia in Using Subaltern Realist Security Theory Perspective

Subaltern is the postcolonial approach to study international relation from the week states’ perspective. It is the offspring of realism which focuses on internal vulnerability is a major source of insecurity. The paper is applied as a framework to explain security threats in Ethiopia and reviewed papers that are writing on Ethiopian national security. This term paper reviewed and classified the Ethiopian security threats as internal and external. By consulting the bulk of literature and my daily academic talk with colleagues; Poverty, famine, recurrent and drought, National integrity (consolidating Ethnic conflict federalism), The danger of succession and state failure, Democratization and election issues are identified as Internal security threats. On the other hand Terrorism, Proliferation of arms, Fragile Relation with Neighboring governments, Nile politics and neighboring countries’ spreading civil wars are claimed to be External security threats. To sustain the sparkle of democracy and development achieved throughout the last decades, it is imperative to work aggressively and focus on the country’s internal vulnerability

Two Nations, Different Regions, Same Challenges: Legal and Political Analysis of Internal Security Threats in Nigeria and Pakistan

This study is a modest but objective comparative evaluation of internal security threats facing two sub-regional large countries of Africa and South Asia-Nigeria and Pakistan. Considering the fact that ethnicity, sectarianism and economic instability are fundamental variables of internal security threats in both countries, the study argued that religious extremism has created an unenviable image of both nations in the eyes of the rest of the world, undoubtedly, this has affected both nations adversely. The study also identified inter-regional grievances as potential causes of damages to both federations. Also identified is ethno-sectarian problem as a major security threat to both nations. This in the opinion of the authors will remain a huge impediment to the goals of economic prosperity to both nations. Consequently, the focus of this study is to examine interdependence of these multifaceted challenges and their overall impact on internal security in both countries. To achieve this, the study employed qualitative research method in which analytical approach was used to examine the similarities in the security challenges in Nigeria and Pakistan. Structural questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The employment of thematic analytic approach was adopted to analyse data collected for the study. The study concludes among others, the need for both countries to individually address these national security threats and find viable solutions to the problems of socio-economic and political reforms and unemployment within a reasonable timeframe to mitigate future threats.Keywords: Internal Security; Ethnicity; Sectarianism; Challenges Dua Bangsa Satu Tantangan: Analisis Politik dan Hukum pada Ancaman Keamanan dalam Negeri (Internal Security) di Nigeria dan PakistanAbstrak Penelitian ini merupakan evaluasi komparatif sederhana namun objektif terhadap ancaman keamanan internal yang dihadapi dua negara besar sub-regional Afrika dan Asia Selatan-Nigeria dan Pakistan. Mempertimbangkan fakta bahwa etnisitas, sektarianisme, dan ketidakstabilan ekonomi adalah variabel fundamental dari ancaman keamanan internal di kedua negara. Penelitian ini berpendapat bahwa ekstremisme agama telah menciptakan citra yang tidak baik dari kedua negara di mata dunia. Tidak diragukan lagi, ini telah mempengaruhi kedua negara secara merugikan. Penelitian ini juga mengidentifikasi kasus-kasus antar-regional sebagai penyebab potensial kerusakan pada kedua federasi. Juga diidentifikasi masalah etno-sektarian sebagai ancaman keamanan utama bagi kedua negara, dimana akan tetap menjadi hambatan besar bagi tujuan kemakmuran ekonomi kedua negara. Fokus penelitian ini adalah untuk menguji saling ketergantungan dari tantangan beragam ini dan dampaknya secara keseluruhan terhadap keamanan internal di kedua negara. Untuk mendapatkan data tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dimana pendekatan analitik digunakan untuk menguji kesamaan dalam tantangan keamanan di Nigeria dan Pakistan. Kuesioner struktural digunakan sebagai instrumen pengumpulan data. Penggunaan pendekatan analitik tematik diadopsi untuk menganalisis data yang dikumpulkan untuk penelitian ini. Studi ini menyimpulkan antara lain, perlunya kedua negara untuk secara individual mengatasi ancaman keamanan nasional ini dan menemukan solusi yang layak untuk masalah reformasi sosial-ekonomi dan politik dan pengangguran dalam jangka waktu yang wajar untuk mengurangi ancaman di masa depan.Kata Kunci: Keamanan dalam Negeri; Etnisitas; Sektarianisme; Tantangan Две нации, разные регионы, одинаковые вызовы: правовой и политический анализ угроз внутренней безопасности в Нигерии и Пакистане АбстрактныйЭто исследование представляет собой скромную, но объективную сравнительную оценку угроз внутренней безопасности, с которыми сталкиваются две субрегиональные крупные страны Африки и Южной Азии - Нигерия и Пакистан. Учитывая тот факт, что этническая принадлежность, сектантство и экономическая нестабильность являются фундаментальными переменными угроз внутренней безопасности в обеих странах, в исследовании утверждается, что религиозный экстремизм создал незавидный имидж обеих стран в глазах остального мира, несомненно, это повлияло на обе нации неблагоприятно. Исследование также определило межрегиональные жалобы как потенциальные причины ущерба для обеих федераций. Также определена этно-сектантская проблема как серьезная угроза безопасности для обеих стран. Это, по мнению авторов, останется огромным препятствием на пути достижения целей экономического процветания обеих стран. Следовательно, целью данного исследования является изучение взаимозависимости этих многогранных вызовов и их общего воздействия на внутреннюю безопасность в обеих странах. Для достижения этой цели в исследовании использовался качественный метод исследования, в котором использовался аналитический подход для изучения сходства проблем безопасности в Нигерии и Пакистане. Структурная анкета использовалась в качестве инструмента для сбора данных. Для анализа данных, собранных для исследования, был использован тематический аналитический подход. В исследовании, среди прочего, делается вывод о необходимости для обеих стран индивидуально противодействовать этим угрозам национальной безопасности и находить жизнеспособные решения проблем социально-экономических и политических реформ и безработицы в разумные сроки для смягчения будущих угроз.Ключевые слова: внутренняя безопасность; Этническая принадлежность; Сектантство; Вызовы

Women reporters as experts on security affairs in Jordan? Rethinking gender and issue competency stereotypes

ABSTRACT Research on gender and issue competency stereotypes frequently deems security affairs a “stereotypically masculine” domain. Traditionally, men are seen as more credible authorities in arenas such as crime and the military, while women are assumed to be more credible in “stereotypically feminine” ones like childcare and health. But women’s roles in politics, media, and other influential sectors are rapidly changing in the Mediterranean and MENA region. To test the conventional wisdom, we conducted an original, nationally representative survey in Jordan (n=885) focused on the media sector, using an embedded experiment assessing beliefs about the suitability of men versus women to report and offer commentary on national security affairs—specifically, an internal security threat (a high-profile bank robbery). Strong patriarchal norms suggest that the country should be an “easy case” for theories positing bias against women as experts in stereotypically masculine issue areas. Our results, however, do not support this conventional wisdom, instead suggesting egalitarianism and even a modest credibility advantage for women on assumptions about expertise. Theoretically, we contribute by proposing three novel explanations for why and when women in patriarchal contexts may evade classic sexist backlash, and perhaps achieve greater credibility than men, as authorities in traditionally masculine domains.

European Strategic Autonomy: The Test Case of Iran

Abstract The ideal of the European Union (EU) as a global peace and security actor is increasingly clashing with the reality of a multipolar world defined by militarised conflict, and a loosening of the formerly close trans-Atlantic relationship with the United States. European policy-makers have identified strategic autonomy as a possible remedy in the face of a growing number of internal and external security threats. This paper adds to the conceptualisation of strategic autonomy by contextualising its current usage and political genealogy. Empirically, European strategic autonomy is examined concerning the efforts to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal after the Trump administration had ceased US participation in May 2018. In particular, the paper assesses the European response to counter the re-imposed unilateral United States (US) sanctions against European individuals and entities by updating the so-called blocking regulation, and setting up a special purpose vehicle (spv) for facilitating trade with Iran. The results show that the European struggle toward achieving strategic autonomy has largely failed, but that it holds valuable lessons to approximate this ideal in the future.

ARMED BANDITRY AND BORDER MONITORING: CHALLENGES FOR NIGERIA’S SECURITY, PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The greatest challenge facing Nigeria today is international terrorism that is aided by religious extremism, porosity of borderline and cross-border security challenges and crime. Indeed, the existence of porous borders and cross-border and frontier activities in Nigeria has aided crimes and security challenges across Nigerian borders for long without any specific solutions. This paper examines the security challenges and the socio-economic effects of insurgency and armed banditry in Nigeria. The country as a nation state is under a severe internal socio economic and security threat. At a more general level, the threat has social, economic, political and environmental dimensions. Each of these dimensions has greatly affected the nation’s stability, and can be traced to the ethnic militia armies, ethnic and religious conflicts, poverty, terrorism, armed robbery, corruption, economic sabotage and environmental degradation. The efforts of the government to eradicate insurgency, banditry and corruption have been slow and costly in terms of public funds spent, lives and properties lost. This has made the citizenry to question, the efficiency of the menace. Using frustration-aggression theory, the paper then revealed that the major criminal activities in Nigeria borders are smuggling of contraband goods and illegal immigrants, trafficking in weapons and human parts, drug trafficking, vehicle crime, trafficking of illegally exploited natural resources, including the illicit trade in timber, oil and diamond among others. This growth and flourishing entry without proper check or monitoring, has brought about insurgency, armed banditry, kidnapping and corruption, etc. which has become a problem of security as a result of these borderless-borders in Nigeria, with armed banditry becoming one of the most intractable challenges facing the country today. There are many speculations that the groups may have found their way through our porous borders. Therefore, the study probes into the nature of Nigeria borders using Historical/descriptive method of research and analysis in Armed Banditry and Border Monitoring: Challenges for Nigeria’s Security, Peace and Sustainable Development. The study data were collected through documentation of secondary sources, including review of related literature journals and write-ups even as it built on the findings of already existing works about emerging security threats in Nigeria. The study is concluded by recommending among others that the country should evolve a sustainable social security system which will discourage public office holders from engaging in corruption, with good information sharing techniques providing gainful employment opportunities for the citizenry, etc.
 
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EU counterterrorism, collective securitization, and the internal-external security nexus

ABSTRACT The first two decades of EU counterterrorism policy are emblematic of the emergence of an internal-external security nexus. This has occurred through the EU’s collective securitization of terrorism as a transboundary threat that blurs the traditional divide between internal and external security requiring multidimensional and transboundary EU counterterrorism policies and practises. The EU’s status quo discourse of terrorism as primarily a national and internal security threat to be dealt with by domestic security agencies has transformed into strategic discourses, policies and practices that frame terrorism as a transnational threat to the EU requiring a transnational response that integrates internal and external policies, institutions, and capabilities. While institutional silos, turf wars, and differing institutional cultures continue to hamper the routinization of a transboundary response, this collective securitization of terrorism as a transboundary threat, within a wider internal-external security nexus, is reshaping the nature of the EU as a security actor.

Indonesian Defense Diplomacy in Achieving Cyber Security Through ADMM-Plus 2014-2019

Cyber ??security issues began to emerge along with advances in the field of information technology and the rapid increase in internet use. However, the greater the need for the internet in the daily activities of the world community, the more potential international security threats arise from activities within the cyber scope. Given the "borderless" nature of cybercrime, it is necessary to deal with other countries. Indonesia's participation in ADMM-Plus illustrates Indonesia's efforts to achieve national interests, namely cyber security through the external environment. This study aims to discuss Indonesia's defense diplomacy in achieving cyber security through ADMM-Plus 2014-2019. By using defense diplomacy theory and qualitative methods, this research illustrates that Indonesia's diplomacy in ADMM-Plus is still at an early stage, so it is difficult to say that the diplomacy has not been maximized. However, the presence of ADMM-Plus has a positive impact on Indonesia, especially in terms of cyber security.

A Survey on Various Attacks and Countermeasures in Wireless Sensor Networks

The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is an evolving technological base comprising spatially dispersed, autonomous tiny sensing devices called nodes. Today, wireless sensor networks are not exclusively limited to military uses such as frontline surveillance. However, they are still used in various industrial and civilian applications, including industrial process tracking and operation, robotic health monitoring, vibration and flame monitoring, healthcare systems, home automation, and traffic management. Nodes, such as temperature, hermetic, vibration, pressure, leisure seizure, or pollutant parameters, are deployed independently to cooperatively control mammal or environmental conditions. The compulsion of security issues occurs in the Wireless Sensor Network to be accepted with complete zip honesty, confidentiality, authentication during contact. In this paper, we analyze the security criteria, internal and external security threats and attacks that can be done, and the mechanism used in the Wireless Sensor Network to address such security issues.

Internal and External Security Challenges of Nepal

Nepal has been a home to diversified settlement in terms of ethnicity, religion, dialect and culture since its outset in civilization. It also lies between two great military and economic giants of Asia – India and China – that are hostile to each other. While these bring abundant opportunities for Nepal, it possesses several internal and external security threats. Nepal suffers from cyber-attack, environmental degradation, pandemic, ethnic, racial or religious conflicts, inequality and poverty, extremism, human trafficking, corruption, migration and trans-boundary crime. In addition, Nepal also faces several security threats, traditional and non–traditional, including terrorism and insurgency. These threats possess serious implications on peace and security of Nepal and the South Asian region. There is a need of serious study about the major internal and external security challenges that Nepal faces in recent decades. This study aims at examining some of the major security challenges, explore the factors behind it, and attempt to suggest few policy recommendations to the government of Nepal to deal with them. The study is conducted by reviewing the primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data includes documents of the government agencies, press release, joint statement and organizational reports. It also includes the interviews with security experts, bureaucrats, policy makers and academicians. Similarly, secondary data includes books, news reports, academic journals, seminars report and reports of research institutes and think tanks. The study highlights that Nepal should prepare itself to meet with the emerging internal and external security challenges what have emerged in recent times. With the rise of India and China, two adversarial powers in the region, Nepal possess extreme challenges in days to come. Similarly, hardly any countries of the world had prepared itself to deal with recent pandemic like COVID-19 that has shattered even the most powerful countries of the world. Taking lessons from these, it is time for Nepal to learn and prepare to mitigate the challenges.

The impact of SETA event attributes on employees’ security-related Intentions: An event system theory perspective

Current research recommends security education, training, and awareness (SETA) programs as an effective way to counter internal security threats and promote employees’ security behaviors. Contrary to the dominant approach, which views SETA as a simple, single construct, we argue that the attributes of SETA are the key determinants of the programs’ impact on individuals. More specifically, we bridge this gap by using event system theory (EST) to conceptualize SETA programs as “organization events” and empirically test the role of SETA attributes in affecting employees’ intentions to comply with security policy (i.e., in-role behavioral intentions) and extra-role behavioral intentions. The results of this research advance the understanding of SETA attributes and their impacts on employees’ compliance intentions and extra-role behavioral intentions from the EST perspective. The results suggest that the novelty of SETA event is more effective in fueling extra-role behavioral intention than compliance intention. The results also suggest that criticality exerts a similar positive influence on both compliance and extra-role behavioral intention, while the disruption of SETA event has a significant negative effect on these two intentions. Further, there is evidence that the negative relationship between SETA event disruption and two security behavioral intentions is stronger when the SETA event is dispersed throughout a wide range of organizational hierarchy levels. The expected research and practical implications are also discussed in the paper.

Cyberterrorism 2 0 or terrorist use of social media: the Islamic State case

Cyberspace has become a common source of international security threats, especially after September 11. The emergence and popularisation of so-called social media have enhanced the militancy of the most diverse groups, including terrorist ones. This article problematises international terrorism, pointing out the causes and effects of this 21st-century phenomenon that we name cyberterrorism 2.0. Thus, we focus on the cyberterrorism studies that analyse social media usage's inputs and outputs by terrorist groups. Through Webometrics and the framework Stakeholders, Activities and Motives in the realm of cybersecurity (SAM), we aim to explain, in the light of International Security Studies and through the Islamic State case study, how cyberterrorism 2.0 arises, develops and impacts national security.

Cops at War: How World War II Transformed U.S. Policing

World War II transformed policing in the United States. Many police enlisted in the military during the war, and in turn many veterans joined police forces following the victories of 1945. As wartime labor shortages depleted their ranks, police chiefs turned to new initiatives to strengthen and professionalize their forces, redoubling those efforts as growing fears of crime and internal security threats outlasted the global conflict. This article investigates the rapid growth of the military police, how African Americans responded to changes in policing due to the war, and these wartime experiences’ lingering impacts. Based on research in obscure and difficult-to-find police professional literature, and closely examining New York City, it argues that the war's effects on policing did not amount to “militarization” as currently understood, but did inspire more standardized and nationally coordinated approaches to recruitment as well as military-style approaches to discipline, training, and tactical operations.

COVID-19 as an International Security Threat

After the Cold War a transition occurred in the international relations paradigm, where it was necessary to redefine which was considered as a threat to international security. As a result, human security doctrine was established which suggested that the international security agenda should focus on people and their needs, rather than states. In the globalized and interrelated world, we live nowadays, infectious diseases spread rapidly, and their consequences can be catastrophic. Hence, pandemics should be considered an international security threat. This paper aims to examine the COVID-19 pandemic as such. We discuss the development from international security towards human security, health security as a theoretical framework, the evolution of the pandemic in context of modern international security paradigm and international health security enforcement, and the securitization of the pandemic. In conclusion, based on the evidence presented, it is clear that the COVID-19 has severe effect on the international community, both in human lives and global economic, and has been securitized.

COVID-19 and the Making of a South African Democratic Developmental State

This article assesses the impact of untraditional security threats on the origin and institutional configuration of existing and prospective developmental states in Africa. It adopts a case study research methodological approach which interrogates the effect of internal and global security threats on the formation of 21st-century African developmental states through the presence of four developmental state features: Development-Oriented Political Leadership; Presence of a Pilot Agency; Private Sector and/or Broad-Based Developmental Coalitions; and Popular Mobilisation through a Developmentalist Ideology. The case studies under review include four existing (Botswana, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda) and one prospective (South Africa) African developmental states. This article finds that intense ethnic rivalries and domestic development imperatives were sufficient factors triggering the construction of developmental states in Botswana, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Furthermore, the outbreak of COVID-19 has served as a global threat which precipitated developmental state project in South Africa.

The Impact of the Aviation Industry on International Security Threats, Case Study of Health Threats (2002–2020)

Technologies and communication devices, especially those used in the military area, such as the invention of the atomic bomb or radar, have revolutionized security studies. But this impact is not limited to military technology. Things like the aviation industry have also had an impact on 21st-century security and new threats by changing the social relation on human life. Countries faced with new threats, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, led us to examine the root of the creation and globalization of such threats. Given that the aviation industry has the absolute ability to transfer any type of person or factor in the global arena with remarkable speed, this feature makes the aviation industry a platform for the spread of threats and evolve them as a transnational threat. Given the increasing growth of the aviation industry and its far-reaching effects on the international community, the field of security threats has also evolved due to the effects of this technology. This article, to understand how the aviation industry affects security threats, examines the examples of health threats and based on that, a hypothesis about the impact of this industry on the evolution of threats.

Who Gets Smart: Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate

The precision strike complex represents a key element of military power for countries around the world. Nothing symbolizes the precision strike complex more than smart bombs—the guided aerial bombs that the United States first debuted in the Vietnam War. Yet, international relations scholars know little about these important weapons and what explains their proliferation. In this paper, we introduce new data on the proliferation of smart bombs from 1960-2017. We then theorize about the key drivers of proliferation, including an interaction between the security environment, regime type, and the interest of states in precision for reasons having to do with following the law of war. The results show that both internal and external security threats make countries more likely to acquire smart bombs, and that this effect is magnified when countries are democratic or are more likely to ratify treaties related to the law of war. GDP per capita and supply-side factors also appear key to explaining smart bomb proliferation.