THE figure is staggering. According to the annual report of Sweden-based think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, global military spending last year was $2.4tr, with the figure projected to grow. In a world beset with violence, hunger and disease, this can only be good news for global arms manufacturers and the military-industrial complex. For this sector, business is booming. As per the report, the US was the top defence spender ($916bn), while China, Russia and India followed. America is locked in a geopolitical tussle with both China and Russia. In the case of Ukraine, the US is using the former Soviet state as a proxy battleground against Moscow. Instead of de-escalating, global powers are fuelling confrontation. For example, the US has just approved a multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with military components. This combative signal is not likely to go down well in Moscow and Beijing, while it is appalling that the US is willing to provide Israel with even more money as the latter exterminates the Palestinian people.

Clearly, the priorities of the world’s richest nations are skewed. While hundreds of millions of people wallow in preventable misery, rich states are spending obscene amounts on their respective war machines. Though defence is a legitimate need of all sovereign states, arms races fuel conflict rather than prevent it. Moreover, in such a scenario, many countries of the Global South are also forced to divert scarce resources towards arms, in part to defend themselves from larger, more well-armed neighbours and adversaries. Amnesty International has noted in a recent report that the post-World War II order is close to collapse. Arguably, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East illustrate the fact that it has already collapsed. Now, it is up to the comity of nations to build a more peaceful world, or prepare for a new dark age of ‘forever’ wars.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2024