Guns Versus Growth:

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Guns Versus Growth

• The Trade-off Between Military Spending and
  Economic Development
• By Annette Hollowell

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• World leaders must stop viewing militaristic
  investment as a measure of national wellbeing.
  And they must embrace multilateral efforts that
  recognize the complete and politicized nature of
  contemporary security questions. By maintaining
  a massive military-industrial complex, the U.S.
  sends the wrong signal to other countries whose
  national budgets desperately need to be directed
  toward human needs
• --Ocsar Arias, the 1987 Nobel Peace Laureate
  and former President of Costa Rica

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Military Spending and Economic Development

• Military spending has increased most where the
  people are poorest, the Global South.
• This preparation for war through a high military
  burden comes at a cost, because many economists
  conclude

• that when states spend high sums for weapons they
  have less money available to spend on human
  security.
• Hence the Guns vs. Growth Issue

4

• Since the dawn of the nuclear age, the
  government (United States) has spent more than
  5.5 trillion on nuclear forces, more than on
  education, the environment and transportation
  combined.
• ---Stansfield Turner, a former director of the
  Central Intelligence Agency

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The Cold War

• Japan of the 1950s was relatively freed of the
  burden of funding militarization, and was able to
  greatly expand its economy.

• This position was opposite of the former Soviet
  Union and the United States.

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The Great Powers National Security Strategies

• Russia, China, and Japan

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Putins Concept of National Security

• In light of its decline, Russia has had to
  refocus its national security strategies to its
  grim realities.
• Fundamental military reforms
• More adept fighting forces to manage civil
  rebellions

• Continuing to dismantle nuclear arsenal with U.S.
  assistance
• Repealing the no first use pledge

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Chinas Security Posture

• Lobby to see that the traditional international
  legal rule prohibiting external interference in
  sovereign states domestic affairs is respected
• Expand sphere of influence in the Pacific Rim to
  gain the respect of its Asian neighbors
• To recover its lost suzerainty
• Pursue membership in the WTO (which it achieved
  in December 2001
• Establish normalized diplomatic relations with
  the U.S.

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Japans Search for a Strategy

• As an economic superpower Japan has advocated the
  Yoshida Doctrine
• PM Miyazawas Peacekeeping Operations Bill
• Acceptance of large increase in its previous UN
  dues

• Push for inclusion as permanent member of the UN
  Security Council
• Rise to the top of the worlds foreign aid donors

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Conclusion

• Given the fact that our individual security and
  well-being will depend to an ever-increasing
  extent on the worlds success in mastering
  complex political, economic, and environmental
  problems, we must redefine security to embrace
  all of those efforts taken to enhance the
  long-term health and welfare of the human family.
  Defense against military aggression will
  obviously remain a vital component of security,
  but it must be joined by defenses against severe
  environmental degradation, worldwide economic
  crisis, and massive human suffering.

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Where on the World Wide Web

• SIPRI Military Expenditure Country Graphs
  http//sipri.se/projects/Milex/Introduction.html
• International Code of Conduct on Arms transfers
• http//www.basicint.org/codeindx.htm

• National Commission for Economic Conversion and
  Disarmament
• http//www.webcom.com/ncecd
• Military Spending Clock
• http//www.cdi.org/sc/javaclock.html