A study of historical trends and practices within the international military education and training (IMET) program with a focus on the Pacific region

This dissertation is based on a historical analysis of secondary data to examine factors that have influenced policy and practices over the last decade within the International Military Education and Training program (IMET) in the Pacific Rim. IMET is an instrument of U.S. national security and foreign policy and a key component of U.S. security assistance that provides training and education on a grant basis to students from participating nations. Specifically, this research asked: 1) What were the changes in IMET student participation, funding and courses in the Pacific region from 2010-2019? 2) What events or priorities determined what countries will participate? 3) What outside variables influenced recruitment practices?, and 4) Did U.S. foreign policy correlate to changes in participation aspects for participating countries in the Pacific? Results show that international policy and geopolitical dynamics may play a significant role in shaping how the United States implements IMET programs. Furthermore, each country has its own specific variables that may indicate a necessity for the U.S. to look individually at each country as it uses IMET as a diplomatic tool to help solidify, improve or shape policy in order to create stability or further strategic, economic or political interests in the region.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Phillips, Evan Daniel Tillman

Contributors dc:contributor

• Davila, Liv T.
• Cope, Bill
• Hood, Denice
• Huang, Wenhao David

• International Military Education and Training (IMET)

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Evan Phillips

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109504

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109504