Up in Arms

"Well written and clearly the product of prodigious research. ...The leaders of the great powers could start eyeing Cold War-inspired playbooks like Casey’s, with dire results for everyone caught in between."

"A methodical study that largely avoids moral posturing, especially about U.S. policies and decisions. That alone justifies taking it seriously... Up in Arms is apposite to the moment."

“An original and compelling analysis.”

“Provocative.”

“A valuable analysis of how military aid to other countries can hinder dictators as much as it can help them.”

“Casey capably delves into a key U.S. policy of the Cold War and the reasons for its successes and failures.”

“US- and Soviet-backed client regimes have been much discussed but little studied. As a result, we know little about the sources of their survival or collapse during the Cold War. Based on an extraordinary study of 280 Cold War autocracies, Up in Arms changes that. A brilliant scholar of authoritarianism, Adam Casey shows that although client-regimes were more stable than other Cold War autocracies, US-backed regimes were far less stable than Soviet-backed ones. He then teaches why. Up in Arms is a must-read for anyone interested in the sources of authoritarian durability or the geopolitics of the Cold War.”

“A brilliant and timely book. Adam Casey shows how US military aid for autocrats can sometimes erode their rule, rather than strengthen it, and how the strategic outcomes of such aid are uncertain and unpredictable. Up in Arms is a powerful reminder of the limitations of military assistance to dictatorships.”

“Adam Casey's groundbreaking book turns conventional wisdom on its head, showing that American aid to dictators during the Cold War often destabilized and shortened rather than prolonged autocratic rule. Using vivid historical detail, innovative new data, and careful analysis, Casey offers a timely and well-researched corrective with important lessons for the current era of renewed great power competition.”