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报告摘要

U.S. Security-Related Treaties and Agreements Database Summary

Core Content

This report introduces a new comprehensive database of U.S. security-related treaties and agreements in force since 1955. The database was developed to address gaps in existing datasets and to provide researchers with a more detailed and accurate record of U.S. security commitments. It is part of a larger project assessing the economic value of U.S. military presence overseas.

The database includes a wide range of agreements such as treaties, memoranda of understanding, conventions, charters, and other formal agreements, along with their annexes, protocols, and amendments. It excludes informal understandings and secret agreements. The data covers all treaties and agreements that were in force at any time between 1955 and 2012, including those signed before 1955 but still in force at that time.

Main Points

Purpose and Importance

Security treaties are significant foreign policy tools used by the U.S. to build relationships, influence behavior, and ensure mutual cooperation.
These agreements can include military alliances, joint training, materiel transfers, and access treaties, and they serve various functions such as deterrence, reassurance, and capability augmentation.
They also come with risks and costs, including behavioral constraints and the potential for involvement in conflicts.

Database Development

The database was created by integrating data from Treaties in Force and Kavass's Current Treaty Index.
It includes 5,548 individual entries after decomposing multilateral agreements into bilateral pairs.
It provides descriptive statistics, regional distribution, temporal trends, and treaty characteristics for analysis.

Key Features

Treaty types are categorized into six main subjects: Operational, Access, Financial, Materiel, Guarantees, and Administrative and Legal.
Treaty characteristics include Amity, Mutual Defense, Training, SOFA, Troops, and Air Force Specific.
The dataset allows for country-year transformation and can be used in multivariate regression analyses to link U.S. commitments with outcomes such as trade and conflict frequency.

Key Information

Regional Distribution

EUCOM (European Command) countries dominate the portfolio of bilateral and multilateral agreements.
CENTCOM (Central Command) and SOUTHCOM (Southern Command) also have significant numbers of agreements.
PACOM (Pacific Command) agreements have increased in recent years.

Temporal Trends

A sharp increase in the number of new treaties occurred in 1992, following the end of the Cold War.
The total number of commitments has increased over time for both bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Operational treaties have increased significantly since the end of the Cold War, reflecting the U.S.'s expanded global role.

Treaty Types

For bilateral treaties, the most common type is Materiel, followed by Guarantees, Operational, and Administrative and Legal.
For multilateral agreements, Guarantees are the most common, followed by Materiel, Operational, Administrative and Legal, Financial, and Access.

Treaty Characteristics

The most common characteristic is Troops, related to the deployment or commitment of U.S. forces.
The least common is Amity, which focuses on peaceful relations and cooperation.

Limitations and Next Steps

The database includes only formal, public agreements, excluding informal arrangements and secret treaties, which may be important for understanding U.S. commitments.
It does not include acts of Congress that affect overseas commitments but are not formal treaties.
Future improvements include:
- Integrating data from additional treaty indexes.
- Conducting a more detailed review of treaty texts.
- Developing more precise definitions for treaty types and characteristics.
- Capturing additional treaty characteristics such as those related to contingency operations, military branches, and international flexibility.

Conclusion

The database provides a valuable resource for researchers and policymakers to understand the types, numbers, and depth of U.S. security commitments globally. It enhances the ability to analyze U.S. foreign and defense policy through empirical data and supports the study of how treaties influence state behavior and international relations.

Appendixes and References

Appendix A includes a full codebook of variables used in the analysis.
Appendix B provides a list of partners and the number of agreements with each.
References are included for further reading on the theories and practices of international agreements and U.S. foreign policy.