Introduction. International security, armaments and disarmament

Chapter:

Introduction. International security, armaments and disarmament

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2012

Author(s):

Bates Gill

The past year saw new and old uncertainties and instabilities around the globe, even as pressures built for further cutbacks, especially in the United States and among its closest allies, to already-dwindling military budgets. Economic austerity measures took hold in many states, including significant economic and military powers in the developed world, further constraining their financial wherewithal, political willingness and military capacity to respond to complex challenges. The balancing of security needs with economic realities received further serious debate in many countries, including a growing realization that narrowly constructed military solutions are likely to be less and less relevant to addressing the actual security challenges of the future. Indeed, in 2011 the argument gained ground in Western capitals that it is not traditionally defined security threats but financial irresponsibility and profligacy—including the long-term costs of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—that pose some of the greatest long-term challenges to the prosperity and security of the developed world, and to the current international security institutions more broadly.