Myth 7: Now is not the time
“The world is a more dangerous place than ever”. This, or similar formulations, have been heard from the mouths of
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Myth 6: National security requires blanket secrecy
For some aspects of defence and security, there is a clear justification for secrecy by governments: war planning, technical
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How Big is the International Arms Trade?
A new Occasional Paper by Sam Perlo-Freeman, attempts to produce a global estimate, or rather a range of estimates of the financial size of the international arms trade. The paper also explains problems with the data, including for some of the largest western arms exporters, from whom one might expect a greater level of transparency: most notably, the USA.
Read moreUK arms to Saudi – a disappointing, but unsurprising verdict
On Monday, July 10, the UK High Court ruled that the government is acting lawfully in allowing export licenses for
Read moreReiner Braun: “US, EU, and Russia: Militarism, Nuclear Threats, and the Trump Administration”
On March 8, 2017, Reiner Braun spoke to a group at Tufts University. In a world where global military expenditures
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 moreSIPRI’s New Long Data-set on Military Expenditure: The Successes and Methodological Pitfalls
WPF’s Sam Perlo-Freeman has a new article, “SIPRI’s New Long Data-set on Military Expenditure: The Successes and Methodological Pitfalls,” published in
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.”
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