Military spending and development: id21 insights, issue 50

War in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflict between Israel and Palestine and terrorist attacks in a score of major cities have dominated the international headlines in the last three years. Few doubt their interconnections – although the sequence of cause and effect are matters of passionate debate. Meanwhile, instability grows and development, the Millennium Development Goals and poverty reduction are sidelined. Little attention is given to how the increase in military spending has been squeezing the resources available for development.

This issue of Insights pulls together some of the preliminary facts and figures on military spending. It shows how globally, total military spending has returned to Cold War levels and underlines the gross misallocation of resources which these expenditures represent.

Articles included:

• Cost of US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq:  Kosiak, S.M.
• Behind the scenes military spending: Hendrickson, D. and Ball, N.
• Guns but no bread: Hiller, D.
• Challenges to human security in the new South Africa: Cell, K.
• Small arms – big bills: Muggah, R