Global Arms Trade “CliffsNotes”
Created as part of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Student Council series of “101” lectures called Fletcher “CliffsNotes”,
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Ecology of Military Corruption
Drawing on program manager Sam Perlo-Freeman’s research and expertise, and case study research conducted as part of the Compendium of
Read moreWhy is a Trump a boon to the arms industry?
Six reasons why the global arms makers love Pres. Trump: 1) His eagerness to increase Pentagon spending by $54 billion,
Read more“Indefensible” Book Launch Boston, Event Summary
The global arms trade is suffused with corruption, imperils the vulnerable, and makes us all less safe. Yet arms merchants
Read moreNigeria’s ‘Armsgate’ scandal: Why have a slice when you can take the cake?
The ‘conventional’ understanding of corruption in arms procurement is that it takes the form of bribes or kickbacks. In return
Read moreSpecial Treatment: UK Government support for the arms trade and industry
We are pleased to draw to your attention a new report by Sam Perlo-Freeman, project manager for our program on the Global Arms Business and Corruption. The report, “Special Treatment: UK Government support for the arms trade and industry,” was authored by Perlo-Freeman while he was at SIPRI, who describes it thus: “The arms industry and market, in the UK as in most other significant western arms-producing countries, has a unique status. Although its production capabilities are privately owned, it has the national government as its primary customer. Unlike other industries, especially in the ‘Anglo-Saxon’ economies, it is the subject of active government industrial policy.”
Read moreThe customer is always right
Last week, a bombing raid in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition seeking to restore the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, struck a funeral, killing 140 civilians. This is the latest in a series of outrages, well-documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations and others, whereby Saudi and allied forces have struck hospitals, schools, market-places and other civilian targets. Saudi-led bombing is believed to be responsible for the majority of civilian deaths in Yemen’s bloody civil war.
Read morePMCs and Security Sector Reform: A Mismatch
Beyond these individual examples of failure, there may be an inherent mismatch in seeking to instill values of professionalism, civic service, and democratic control of security sectors through private (and perhaps mercenary) contractors. In countries where SSR is struggling to confront marketplaces that commodify violence, PMCs represent exactly that—the commoditization of military skills.
Read morePersonnel bloat at DoD?
A triumph for transparency in defense spending came earlier this week when the Pentagon reversed its decision to classify information
Read moreIf You Want Peace, Invest in Peace
Since the Institute for Economics and Peace began publishing its Global Peace Index (GPI) in 2008, each year has become
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