Militarized Decision-Making for War in Pakistan: 1947-1971

Abstract

In a balanced, constitutionally governed state, military decision-makers are no more likely to recommend war in a dispute than are civilian leaders. However, in military regimes, there is a tendency to import biases that systematically distort the contribution of a state's foreign and interior ministries. Consequently, military governments become overly pessimistic about the scarcity of security and overconfident about the utility of force. Using the case of war decisions in Pakistan from 1947-1971, this article suggests that the process of militarized decision-making increases the tendency of a military regime to advocate war when isolated from civilian counterbalances.