Arms Transfers to the Third World 1971–85

Dr Michael Brzoska and Thomas Ohlson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

ISBN 0-19-829116-7

383 pp.

1987

The value of major conventional weapons imported by Third World countries between 1971 and 1985 was quadruple that for the previous two decades. This spectacular increase reflects changes in the economic and technological relations between industrialized nations and the Third World, as well as having profound political repercussions.

This book gives a comprehensive overview of the flow of major conventional weapons during the period 1971–85. It analyses both the suppliers (their arms export bureaucracies, their degree of dependence on arms exports, and shifts in arms export policies) and the main Third World recipients, describing the inflow of arms and the reasons underlying it. The facts that propel this arms trade are assessed in a concluding chapter which also analyses the structural changes that have occurred in the arms market and their implications. The detailed statistics and arms trade registers for the period (in some cases from 1951), and the introduction of a new SIPRI price system for evaluating the arms trade, make this a valuable reference work.

Arms Transfers to the Third World 1977–85 is the second book in a series of three on the spread of weapons to the Third World, and is also a sequel to SIPRI's pioneer study, The Arms Trade with the Third World. It is a companion volume to Arms Production in the Third World, which assessed domestic arms production, and the two volumes together present a complete picture of major-weapons procurement in the Third World.

Contents

1. The flow of arms: Main trends

2. Demand patterns

3. The suppliers

4. Structure and dynamic: An assessment

Appendix 1. Register of the trade in major conventional weapons with Third World countries, 1971–85

Appendix 2. Register of licensed production of major conventional weapons in Third World countries, 1971-–5

Appendix 3. Register of major conventional weapons exported to Third World countries, 1971–85, by supplier and recipient

Appendix 4A. Values of exports of major weapons to the Third World, 1951–70, by supplier

Appendix 4B. Values of exports of major weapons to the Third World, 1971–85, by supplier

Appendix 5A. Values of imports of major weapons to the Third World, 1951–70, by region

Appendix 5B. Values of imports of major weapons to the Third World, 1971–85, by region

Appendix 6A. Values of imports of major weapons to the Third World, 1951–70, by country

Appendix 6B. Values of imports of major weapons to the Third World, 1971–85, by country

Appendix 7. Shares of major suppliers in Third World imports of major conventional weapons, 1951–85, by region and country

Appendix 8. The SIPRI price system

Appendix 9. Sources and methods

Appendix 10. Some notes on the comparison of arms trade statistics

Appendix 11. Selective bibliography

ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)/EDITORS

Dr Michael Brzoska is an Associate Senior Researcher at SIPRI.