Global military spending reaches all-time high
May 15, 2024 12:19 pm
On 22 April the global military spending figures for the 2023 were released, and perhaps unsurprisingly, spending has increased across the world, with total global military expenditure reaching $2443 billion in 2023.[1] For the first time, all five continents saw an increase in military expenditure, with a 6.8% increase from 2022.[2] Spending in each of the five geographical areas increased: 2.2% in the Americas, 4.4% in Asia and Oceania, 16% in Europe, 9% in the Middle East, 22% in Africa These figures clearly suggest that military expenditure is being prioritised, particularly in most of the wealthiest nations (including the UK), as a response to greater insecurity. It is often claimed that the main responsibility of a Government to keep its people safe and secure, yet this tends to be seen only in terms of ‘national security’, rather than an alternative framing of ‘human security’ or even a ‘sustainable security’ that often accords better with people’s felt needs.[3] So, many governments are choosing to prioritise spending on military and defence in an attempt to bring about security, rather than tackling major systemic issues that also cause huge insecurity nationally and globally, such as poverty, the climate crisis, and inequality. If these issues were tackled, people across the world would experience hugely increased security, and the causes of many conflicts and wars would disappear, and in turn, there would be far less perceived need for military spending. Why is military spending increasing? To put it simply, there is increasing insecurity and conflict across all of these geographical areas, resulting in countries increasing their military spending. According to the UN, a quarter of humanity lives in conflict-affected areas.[4] For many NATO states, the war between Russia and Ukraine is the main reason for increased spending, as well as increasing tensions and violence in the Middle East. In Asia, China, which has the second largest military budget, keeps increasing military spending and neighbouring countries are, in turn, increasing their spending in response. Unsurprisingly, increased tensions and war in the Middle East have increased spending in that region, but also globally. In 2023, Israel’s military spending increased by 24%, and it is the second largest spender in the region, after Saudi Arabia. In Central America and the Caribbean, military spending has increased in response to organised crime and greater violence, such as in Haiti and Mexico. Africa saw the biggest increase, and particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where military spending increased by 105% due to the ongoing conflict between the government and non-state armed groups. South Sudan’s miliary spending also increased significantly, by 78%, because of internal violence and the recent civil war. Interestingly, Algeria saw a 76% increase after experiencing increased profits from gas exports , as European countries stopped buying gas from Russia.[5] UK military spending announcement, 23 April In a speech on 23 April, Rishi Sunak announced that UK defence spending would increase to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, to reach £87 billion a year. For context, this is 4.8 times more than the budget for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which is responsible for most of the UK’s international development budget. It is 7.2 times more than the budget of the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero, which is responsible for the Government’s spending on climate action.[6] Sunak announced that this increased military spending would be directed to three areas in particular: Strengthening UK defence, to the rapid production of ‘next generation’ munitions Modernising the Armed Forces Backing Ukraine’s defence, including an additional £500 million this year, and a commitment to continue to support Ukraine. Alternative approaches to defence “In a world that is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the Cold War, we cannot be complacent. As our adversaries align, we must do more to defend our country, our interests, and our values” – Rishi Sunak’s speech, 23 April 2024[7] Rethinking Security The Ammerdown Group (a partnership of NGOs and think tanks) produced the Rethinking Security report, emphasising the need for focusing on the longer term, and tackling the root causes of insecurity. It recognises that the security of each nation is intrinsically connected to the security of other nations, as we can see with the climate crisis, natural disasters and diseases. It emphasises the need for a global approach to security, because it is impossible for individual countries to achieve long-term security if the rest of the world does not. It is crucial to recognise that all people need safety and security in a much wider sense, that of ‘human security’. For a government to truly uphold its responsibility of keeping people safe, it needs to actively protect and act against threats to human security such as poverty, disease, inequality, the climate crisis, financial issues, natural disasters, unstable living conditions, insecure housing or jobs, as well as violence and conflict, not by simply increasing military spending. ‘Sustainable security’ builds on this human security model, and goes further, recognising the need for long term plans and thinking about the future. Another important aspect to rethinking security is to approach it from the perspectives of often excluded and marginalised groups, for example those in poverty, communities of colour, displaced peoples, those experiencing the worst effects of the climate crisis. It is also important to note that often these groups overlap or are the same. It is interesting, and sad, that what many perceive as security, such as increased military spending, tighter borders, policing, more often than not have the opposite impact on these marginalised groups, decreasing their security and safety further. Reducing the insecurity from all these other threats would in turn reduce the threats to national security, as so many conflicts and wars are caused by threats to human security. The report urges that the climate crisis must be at the centre of rethinking security, and move away from military security to sustainable security at the same time as moving away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Conflict prevention and transformation […]
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