Still Tools of Repression? Re-Assessing the Effect of Arms Imports on Physical Integrity Rights

Agnes Brender () and Katharina Pfaff

No 22, ILE Working Paper Series from University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics

Abstract: Small arms and light weapons (SALWs) imports have been found to be linked to a worsening of human rights conditions in the importing state. In this paper, we reexamine the relationship of government’s SALW imports and the decision to engage in violations of physical integrity rights using updated and more reliable repression data as well as proposing a different estimation strategy. Analyzing physical integrity rights violations and SALW imports of 176 countries from 1991 to 2010, empirical results indicate that SALW imports have a negative impact on respect for physical integrity rights. When disaggregating findings by regime type, we find that SALW imports in autocracies are associated with more repression, while we have mixed results for democracies.

Keywords: arms trade; SALW; repression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F14 H56 K33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-law
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ilewps:22

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