I. Security issues in 2020: A global overview

Chapter:

1. Introduction: International stability and human security in 2020

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2021

Author(s):

Dan Smith

SIPRI’s data on arms transfers comparing the five years 2016–20 with the preceding five-year period, 2011–15, indicates that the volume of international transfers of major weapons was approximately stable.⁶ Whether that marks a turn towards a downward trend, or is merely a pause in growth, cannot be determined yet. Global military spending, in contrast, increased in 2020, as it had in previous years, imposing a heavier burden on national economies that in most cases shrank during the year under the impact of the Covid‑19 pandemic.⁷ It is possible that, in the wake of the pandemic and its economic effects, coming years will see lower military spending, as happened after the global financial and economic crisis of 2008–2009. This is not inevitable, however; many major military spenders perceive reasons, including anxiety about the security context, to devote more resources to military preparations.