Autocratic states have consistently been preferred U.S. base hosts since 1898

Evidence

Since World War II, the United States has supported undemocratic and authoritarian base hosts in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Greece, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, to name only a few. A large-scale study of U.S. bases created since 1898 confirms that autocratic states have been “consistently attractive” to U.S. officials as base hosts. “Due to the unpredictability of elections,” on the other hand, democratic states prove “less attractive in terms [of] sustainability and duration.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 303

“Gaining and maintaining access to U.S. bases,” the base expert Catherine Lutz explains, “has often involved close collaboration” with corrupt, antidemocratic, and sometimes murderous governments. Since World War II, the United States has supported undemocratic and authoritarian base hosts in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Greece, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, to name only a few. A large-scale study of U.S. bases created since 1898 confirms that autocratic states have been “consistently attractive” to U.S. officials as base hosts. “Due to the unpredictability of elections,” on the other hand, democratic states prove “less attractive in terms [of] sustainability and duration.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 303

Categorization

• CANDY: This is a surprising, tweetable fact: the U.S. prefers authoritarian hosts for its bases because elections are too unpredictable.
• XREF: Connects directly to chapter’s core argument that base access corrupts U.S. foreign policy toward democracy promotion.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 303