Mar 9, 20224 min read

THE TRADE OF ARMS IN GEOPOLITICS

By Editorial Board /February 22, 2022

Alexandre Katrangi & Irina Duisimbekova – Licorne Holdings Saudi Arabia – IDEX Abu Dhabi

The spending of the world military has presently reached an amount of one trillion dollars which Is close to the levels of the cold war (Shah, 2013). The international institute of strategic studies states that is an extensive amount of arms being purchased globally by nations every year (“The International Institute of Strategic Studies”, 2022). A sum of around $30-35 billion dollars per year is made in actual sales of arms through the signing of contracts and agreements. And in recent years the annual sale of arms has increasingly reached a total of $50-60 billion and it is imperative to note that the global financial crisis is rapidly impacting the arms trade as well (Shah, 2013).

One of the primary key targets of the sale of foreign arms is developing nations through the suppliers of weapons which are supplied majorly by two or three suppliers. And in the region of the Middle East, Asia, and Saudi Arabia, despite the economic climate globally, major purchases continue to take place nationwide (Shah, 2013).

Arms trade and Economic Agendas of Geopolitics

In context to the trade of arms, corporations and governments intermingle to meet distinctive forms of their economic and political agendas. And in the complexes of military industries, foreign military policies are also shaped and influenced by powerful countries in play on a global level where their profits are enhanced (Beaumont, n.d.). Further, the selling of arms can also help governments with various strategic and geopolitical interests.

It is also imperative to note that, the United States in the past came into agreement with the United Arab Emirates in selling 80 advanced F16s (Warren, 1999). The estimated amount of the deal in total was $15billion. And as a result, the United States built military bases with access that was ameliorated to deep water port cables in the Persian Gulf of the housing carriers. However, the possibility of an arms race among neighbours and the stability in the region were concerns that were raised with regards to this. And in the present, it is hard to predict whether the purchase of arms in this region has been due to this outcome (Warren, 2000).

Further, many weapons are also sold to Turkey from the United States which in turn have been used against the Kurds resulting in some of the most atrocious human rights violations recorded to this day along with ethnic cleansing. It also noted that, since the United States have also turned a blind eye to these gross violation of Human rights since the Second World War that resulted from the selling of weapons since the U.S can set up bases in geopolitical locations as such which gives them undemanding access to locations like the Middle East, and Turkey as well due to Turkey is one of the main receivers of oil locations from the Caspian Sea, headed to Western Countries (Shah, 2001).

Moreover, in context to procuring more arms, the Middle East is known as the region that is the most largely militarized on a substantial scale in comparison to other regions according to the international Advisors Licorne Gulf. When authoritarian regimes of dictatorship are combined, with suppliers of arms selling and their willingness to sell to such regimes, the people of such regions become victims to both oppression and repression, which is a partial reason as to why extremism and fanaticism are widespread today (“The Middle East sees biggest import of arms in last 5 years: Report”, 2021).

Conclusion In essence, various public groups along with the United Nations are pressuring nations and governments to be more accountable and responsible in the selling and production of arms including the purpose it is sold. Nevertheless, under such combined rhetoric in military lobbying industries, governments can unintentionally and intentionally end up assisting military-industrial networks more than other governments. This has in turn raised questions and concerns regarding foreign policies that aspire in seeking peace through the means of war. Finally, in major countries, military expenditures are increasing rapidly with the whirl of revolution.

References:

Beaumont, J. How Politics Tie to Domestic/Global Finance and Affect You. Budget Boost. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://budgetboost.co/politics-ties-to-global-finance/.
The Middle East sees biggest import of arms in last 5 years: Report. Aljazeera. (2021). Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/15/global-arms-transfers-level-off-but-middle-east-imports-grow.
Shah, A. (2001). Kurds and Human Rights. Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.globalissues.org/article/142/kurds-and-human-rights.
Shah, A. (2013). Global Financial Crisis. Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.globalissues.org/article/768/global-financial-crisis.
Shah, A. (2013). The Arms Trade is Big Business. Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business.
Shah, A. (2013). World Military Spending. Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.globalissues.org/article/75/world-military-spending.
The International Institute of Strategic studies. IISS. (2022). Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://www.iiss.org/.
Warren, L. (1999). More Than Meets the Eye. The Conventional Arms Transfer Project. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20041015163126/http:/www.clw.org/cat/inside29.html.
Warren, L. (2000). The Cat is out of the Bag. The Conventional Arms Transfer Project. Retrieved 21 February 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20041015204806/http:/www.clw.org/cat/oped3-14-00.html.