How Does Military Professionalization Affect Cyber Capacity Development?

Abstract

This paper investigates how military professionalization influences a state's propensity to incorporate cybersecurity responsibilities within their militaries. We argue that states with more professional militaries would be more likely to initiate cyber-capacity development. Employing quantitative analysis, this study analyzes cross-national data to test the hypothesis that states with higher levels of military professionalization are more likely to initiate the development of military cyber capacities. Our empirical results support this hypothesis, demonstrating a significant positive correlation between the degree of military professionalization and the likelihood of adopting new cybersecurity responsibilities. Our results also offer explanation as to which dimensions of professionalization are more strongly related to the adoption of military cyber capabilities.