Measuring state security relationships: The security position score

Bradford Waldie

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2026, vol. 43, issue 3, 309-343

Abstract: Security cooperation between states is an important aspect of foreign policy, but accurate measurement of security relationships is difficult. This paper introduces a new dataset containing a novel measure of state security-related foreign policy positions within the international system derived exclusively from observational security data. This new measure provides continuous, yearly, country-level security position scores for each state in the international system which reflect a state's level of security coordination with US-led security hegemony. This new measure of state security positions is comparable with widely used measures of state ideology and provides a new tool for international relations research. Independently derived measures of state ideology and security relationships allow for better understanding and prediction of foreign policy outcomes.

Keywords: Aliiance; security; cooperation; measurement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:compsc:v:43:y:2026:i:3:p:309-343

DOI: 10.1177/07388942251351757

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