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AI: Governments initiate military buildups despite failing economies and lack of popular support primarily to consolidate domestic control through fear and nationalism, and to divert public attention away from poverty, corruption, and systemic crises. By manufacturing external threats, these regimes attempt to unite a fractured populace against a common enemy.

To achieve this, autocratic or struggling regimes utilize several distinct strategies:

Diversionary Conflict: Creating international crises or border disputes to shift focus from domestic hardships, framing the government's survival as essential to national security.

Coercion and Repression: Expanding military and internal security forces allows the regime to violently suppress political dissent, enforce compliance, and deter uprisings.Economic Patronage: Funneling scarce national funds into the defense sector secures the loyalty of military elites, defense contractors, and armed forces, which prevents institutional coups.

Fostering Nationalism: Promoting extreme patriotism or militarism frames opposition to the government as a betrayal of the state, making it easier to justify the suspension of civil liberties.