Measuring Garrison states in international politics: towards a new ‘Garrison index’

Abstract

What is the role played by Garrison States – actors in which domestic and external decision-making is subjected mainly to security considerations – in global politics? A wide array of literature has attributed the notion of Garrison states to a myriad of state actors. However, a robust empirical account remains vague and ill-defined. This paper lays the foundations for measuring Garrison states, introducing an index mapping their development over time, focusing on the period between 1990–2020. Based on an empirically informed discussion, the paper explores the case of the most highly Garrison state in this index – Israel.