Far from Home: The Impact of Corruption on Tactical Military Effectiveness

Abstract This article investigates how regime corruption affects the tactical military effectiveness of armies during clashes against violent non-state actors. It is posited that as armies operate further from their main logistic hub, regime corruption increasingly undermines their battlefield capabilities. In fact, corruption diminishes troops' skills and reduces the quality and quantity of their weapons, while as armies become more reliant on extended and strained supply lines, they become more vulnerable to inadequate equipment. To test this hypothesis, a range of multivariate Tobit, ordinary least squares (OLS), and multilevel regression analyses is employed, using data from engagements between armies and violent non-state actors worldwide between 1989 and 2021.