Soldiers' Dilemma: Foreign Military Training and Liberal Norm Conflict

Summary

The U.S. military trains other states’ forces to adopt the liberal norms of respect for human rights and obedience to civilian authorities. But norm-abiding behavior does not always follow this training. A survey experiment with the Armed Forces of Liberia finds that when these two norms conflict, soldiers instead prioritize loyalty to their unit, the military, and shared goals. These results are strongest among soldiers with more U.S. training.