Posted by New Delhi: Global arms spending has seen a record increase in recent years. World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year in 2023 and reached a total global spend of $2.4 trillion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). This was a 6.8 percent growth, the steepest year-on-year rise since 2009. For the first time in 15 years, military spending has grown in six continents.
Lorenzo Scarazzato, researcher at SIPRI’s Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, says insecurities among countries are fuelling military expenditure.
“Wars are going on, there are insecurities and tensions, and more and more states are resorting to military expenditure to boost their security, or at least their perceived security. It’s a vicious cycle. My security can reflect as someone else’s insecurity is the so-called security dilemma,” he said while talking to News9 Plus Editor Sandeep Unnithan on The News9 Plus Show.
Demand-supply mismatch
“In 2014, NATO member states agreed on using 2% of their GDP on defence. At the same time, 20% of this amount of money should be spent according to NATO for equipment. We’ve seen how increasingly more and more states are trying to reach this threshold. In 2023, 11 out of 31 states reached 2%. And the equipment has been increasing as well,” Scarazzato stated.
Even though demand for arms is increasing, supply chain disruptions are an issue. “So the arms industry is not able so far to produce the amount of equipment required,” he added.
Scarazzato also pointed out that rising tensions among nations are benefiting arms companies. “There’s no doubt that there are some regional focuses when it comes to the arms industry. Many of the major arms producers are in the US, and many of the big buyers are in Europe. So countries that are perhaps more developed have more money to develop arms production and tend to buy from their allies.”
Self-reliance in arms production
Meanwhile, countries like China and India are focusing on self-reliance in weapons production. “So if a government decides that self-reliance is their way to go, there’s going to be some money dedicated to the local domestic defence industry. It’s the same when it comes to the US and Europe is also trying to bolster its own arms industry,” he stated.
War and peace
Scarazzato said countries should find ways to settle disputes through diplomatic solutions instead of resorting to war.
“The current situation looks quite grim. In the short term, at least, it seems unlikely that military expenditure is going to decrease. At the same time, perhaps, it can be easier to talk and be involved in diplomatic solutions, to find a common path towards decreasing arms spending.”