The Political Economy of Defence

A contemporary and comprehensive analysis of national and supranational defence governance in an uncertain and increasingly dangerous world.

Ron Matthews (Edited by)

9781108441018, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 May 2019

520 pages, 20 b/w illus. 26 tables
22.9 x 15.1 x 2.7 cm, 0.74 kg

Defence is the ultimate public good, and it thus falls to government to determine the appropriate amount of public revenue to commit to the defence of the realm. This will depend on history, strategic threat, international security obligations, entreaties from allies and, of course, the threat faced. The Political Economy of Defence is structured to identify, explain and analyse the policy, process and problems that government faces from the starting point of national security through to the ultimate objective of securing a peaceful world. Accordingly, it provides insights into how defence budgets are determined and managed, offering relevant and refreshingly practical policy perspectives on defence finance, defence and development trade-offs, sovereignty vs globalisation debates, and many other pertinent issues. It will appeal to policymakers, analysts, graduate students and academics interested in defence economics, political economy, public economics and public policy.

Part I. National Security: 1. The political economy of defence Ron Matthews
2. Political vs military leadership: the battle for common means and ends Bryan Watters
3. Efficient and effective financial management of defence resources Irfan Ansari
Part II. Defence or Development?: 4. Military expenditure and growth Ron Smith
5. Towards demilitarisation? The military expenditure-development nexus revisited Jurgen Brauer, John Dunne and Nan Tian
Part III. Autarky vs Globalisation?: 6. Alliances in flux: sovereignty and security in a changing world Stefan Markowski and Robert Wylie
7. The rise and demise of government mandated offset policy Ron Matthews
8. Defence companies in the age of globalisation: French defence industry as a case study Jean-Michel Oudot and Renaud Bellais
9. The great paradox of defence: political economy and defence procurement in post-Brexit United Kingdom Matt Uttley and Benedict Wilkinson
10. Defence burden-sharing: the perennial debate in international alliance management Alexander Mattelaer
Part IV. Resource Management: 11. The political economy of arms collaboration Keith Hartley
12. Defence procurement: overcoming challenges and managing expectations Trevor Taylor
13. The whole-life costs of defence equipment David Kirkpatrick
14. Economic and political dimensions of the defence industry supply chain revolution Derek Braddon
15. The cost of women in ground close combat roles Joanne L. Fallowfield
Part V. International Security: 16. Battlegrounds yet unknown: America's future military force structure? Randolf G. S. Cooper
17. Innovating and offsetting? The political economy of US defence innovation Daniel Fiott
18. The political economy of terrorism Diego Muro
19. The political economy of peace operations Fitriani
Part VI. End Game: 20. Towards a peaceful world Anke Hoeffler
21. Drawing threads, weaving patterns … Ron Matthews.

Subject Areas: Security services [KNSS], Political economy [KCP], Economics [KC], Defence strategy, planning & research [JWK], Arms negotiation & control [JPSF]