Military spending and arms sales keep rising—but for how long?

But things are changing. The good economic times are, temporarily at least, over. With economic crisis causing extraordinary drops in output in OECD economies and significantly reduced growth elsewhere, many governments will face pressure to review their spending priorities. Meanwhile the Obama administration has signalled a new set of policies with implications for the direction of US military spending.

What are the different factors that have driven up military spending and arms sales around the world? What difference will the Obama administration make to these trends? Will the economic crisis slow the seemingly inexorable rise of military spending and arms trading? What differences is the economic crisis already making to governments’ military spending and arms trade policy? How much is the arms industry suffering? 

In the Yearbook

Chapter 5. Military expenditure 

Appendix 5A. Military expenditure data 1999-2008 

Appendix 5D. Nato military expenditure by category 

Chapter 6. Arms production  

Appendix 6A. The SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing companies in 2007 

Appendix 6B. Major arms industry acquisitions, 2008

Special one-pager on the financial crisis (not in the YB) 

Chapter 7. Arms transfers*