The Horizon Audiofiles - Ep 080 - The Hidden Political Economy of Security Cooperation

This paper examines how external security cooperation (SC) can
reshape the political economies of fragile states. Often framed
as a neutral transfer of training and equipment, SC is inherently
political-economic, redistributing rents, reconfiguring
authority, and altering elite bargains. The paper advances a
four-mechanism framework—patronage, veto players,
deterritorialisation of authority, and legitimacy—to explain how
assistance can produce political dislocation, where formal
capacity increases while social legitimacy erodes. Drawing on
cases from South Vietnam, Afghanistan, and West Africa, it shows
how technocratic reforms are absorbed into patron-client
networks, empower spoilers, and weaken accountability. The paper
concludes that durable outcomes depend less on aid volume than on
aligning programs with political realities and prioritising
legitimacy alongside capacity.


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