Citation

Rosh RM. J. Peace Res. 1987; 24(1): 21-30.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/002234338702400103

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study argues that countries which are characterized by ethnic cleavage allocate a larger percentage of their resources to military expenditures in order to maintain control over ethnically diverse and fragmented populaces. The results of the statistical analysis undertaken contradict two previous empirical studies that had produced counter-intuitive results suggesting that there was no ethnic dimension to global militarization. Both an historical and a statistical cross-sectional analysis (for the year 1979) are employed in order to demonstrate that the greater the degree a country is characterized by ethnic cleavages the greater the percentage of its Gross National Product that will be allocated to military resources even after controlling for alternative explanations.