Most nations in Europe have increased their military spending. (Photo: Finnish army)
A perceived threat from Russia has triggered a central European dash towards military spending.
Figures presented on Monday (24 April) by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) show military expenditures in Central Europe grew by 2.4 percent in 2016. Continue reading
Caption: An S-300 PMU-1 antiaircraft missile is launched during a military exercise. (Costas Metaxakis/AFP/Getty Images)
The world is becoming more dangerous than ever before. That’s the type of statement you may read in the newspaper or hear a presidential candidate say. But how to do you prove that it is true? One trend that gives us a good indication is military spending.
In 2011, the world was spending more on its military than in all of history. We have remained around that historic peak in the years since, although military expenditures have shrunk slightly each year. The world is still spending more than during the Cold War, World War ii or any other time.
The reason this indicates the danger in today’s world is not just as simple as saying, the more money spent on weapons, the more dangerous the world is. It matters who’s spending on it. And when you look at those facts, the picture is even more disturbing.
Global Geopolitics 