Why do some states possess more advanced military technologies than others? Our study explores the vertical proliferation of land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), seeking to understand which demand- and supply-side factors best explain why some countries acquire more sophisticated LACMs. We theorize that states’ security environments, regime types, possession of related strategic technologies, and membership in the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) influence the possession of more sophisticated cruise missiles. Our analysis employs a unique new global dataset with granular data on every LACM national militaries have deployed. We use this dataset to evaluate the proliferation of LACMs across the international system from 1991–2015. Using a selection model that first controls for the horizontal proliferation of LACMs, we find that insecurity, scientific and technical expertise from related technologies, the possession of highly authoritarian and highly democratic regimes, and MTCR membership all have positive effects on the sophistication of LACM-possessors’ arsenals.

中文翻译：

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爬梯子：解释巡航导弹的垂直扩散

为什么有些国家拥有比其他国家更先进的军事技术？我们的研究探讨了对地攻击巡航导弹 (LACM) 的垂直扩散，试图了解哪些需求方和供应方因素最能解释为什么一些国家获得更复杂的 LACM。我们推测，国家的安全环境、政权类型、相关战略技术的拥有情况以及导弹技术控制制度 (MTCR) 的成员身份会影响拥有更先进的巡航导弹。我们的分析使用了一个独特的新全球数据集，其中包含每个 LACM 国家军队部署的精细数据。我们使用这个数据集来评估 1991-2015 年 LACM 在国际系统中的扩散情况。使用首先控制 LACM 水平扩散的选择模型，我们发现不安全感，