Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-2009

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Ian Down

Abstract

State failure or the weakening of state structures have invited an increasing number of third-party military interventions since the 1990s due to the security, political, and economic concerns these pose for the international order. This study examines the impact of third-party military intervention on the political rights and civil liberties of the target country by drawing from the selectorate theory. Specifically, it analyzes the impact of military intervention by examining the purpose of intervention, whether interveners acted unilaterally or not, and if nation-building was mandated. Unbalanced Panel method is used to analyze data from 199 countries from 1972 to 1999. The findings show that under certain conditions military intervention enhances the political rights and civil liberties in target countries. Specifically, if promotion of democracy is the aim of the intervention, and that democracies intervene multilaterally while engaging in nation-building; interventions lead to greater democratization. The evidence presented here suggests that military interventions are more effective in bringing about positive change in political rights when the interveners engage IGOs in nation-building of the target country. In terms of civil liberties, the results of intervention are not as promising as with political rights. The analysis shows that interventions, lead to lower level of civil liberties. This divergence between political rights and civil liberties as a result of third-party military intervention, perhaps, can be explained through greater emphasis that the international community places on collective rights than on individual liberties.

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