Andrea Gilli

Stanford University, National Defense University

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Andrea Gilli is a leading scholar in international security, whose research illuminates the intricate relationship between military power, technological change, and the global diffusion of advanced weaponry. His work critically examines how industrial, infrastructural, and organizational constraints shape the spread of cutting-edge military systems, from drones to fighter jets. In his highly influential 2014 paper, "The Diffusion of Drone Warfare," Gilli demonstrates that replicating American drone capabilities is far more complex than simply acquiring the technology, requiring deep institutional and industrial capacity. His 2019 correspondence, co-authored with Mauro Gilli, further advances this argument by showing how the growing complexity of capital-intensive platforms like fighter jets fundamentally hinders rising powers—including China—from successfully mimicking U.S. military dominance. This work has earned him a central place in debates on military-technological imitation and the future of great power competition. With his papers cited by scholars and policymakers alike, Gilli’s research provides essential, sobering insights into the real-world limits of technological diffusion and the enduring structural advantages of established military powers.