Military Expenditure Trends for 1960-2014 and What They Reveal

Abstract

The article uses newly available consistent military expenditure data for 1960-2014 to examine past and current global spending trends during and after the Cold War. We are particularly interested in the impact of the end of the Cold War, 9/11 and the 2008 recession on military spending worldwide. The global share of military spending of East Asia & Pacific and the Middle East & North Africa increased relative to other regions since 1985. This increase underscores the need for western allies to bolster their power projection capacities. After 1999, both China and Russia raised their real defense spending, with China's increases far exceeding that of Russia. Both countries have a long ways to go to rival US capabilities. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) continues to be heavily dependent on US defense spending. The post-1998 expansion allies assume about 2.4 per cent of the alliance's defense burden, while representing significant risks to NATO, given recent Russian actions in the Ukraine.