Academic Report

Cover Page
Subtitle

Subroto Chakraborty
Instructor’s Name
4 July 2023

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1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Meaning of Globalisation 4

2.2 Perspectives of Globalisation 5

2.3 History of the Military-Industrial Complex 6

2.4 Globalisation’s Impact on Military-Industrial Complex: 7

2.5 Expansion of defence markets and international arms trade: 7

REFERENCES: 9

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 1. INTRODUCTION
A country’s military dominance is often highlighted through its ability to
manufacture cutting-edge arms and ammunition for domestic and
international markets. A military-industrial Complex consists of a network of
organisations, research institutes and government agencies involved in
developing, manufacturing and selling military equipment, the latest
technology and services. The irst-ever reference to the Military-Industrial
Complex was made by US President Eisenhower in 1961 when he raised
concerns about its growing in luence on US foreign policy as well as
domestic arms sales (Dunne and Sköns, 2011)
In 2020, the size of the global military-industrial Complex (MIC) was $ 112
billion, but the actual numbers could be higher. The US made up 40 % of the
global arms sale in 2022, followed by Russia & France. In terms of arms
import, India leads the pack in 2022 followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Australia & China. Asia & Oceania received around 41% of global arms
imports followed by the Middle East with 31% & Europe accounted for 16% of
global arms imports. (SIPRI 2023)
In Europe, Ukraine - Russia con lict has played a major role in overall
arms import. Ukraine became the third-highest arms importer in 2022.
Now we have some clarity about the market size of the military-industrial
complex along with some data on counties which are heavily involved in the
whole mechanism of buying and selling arms. (SIPRI 2023)
In this essay, we will try to understand the impact of globalisation on the
military-industrial complex which includes defence industries, arms trade,
geopolitics, diplomacy, R&D and ethics. Understanding the impact of
globalisation on the military-industrial complex is necessary for defence
institutions and policy-makers to identify the challenges and to ensure

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 transparent and responsible practices by private companies and
governments who are importing arms and ammunition. This is essential for
balancing national security interests, economic bene its and ethical
concerns. (Jacques S. Gansler 2014)
In the literature review section, we will discuss the de inition of
globalisation in today’s context and various theoretical frameworks through
which we can identify the ethical issues associated with the military-
industrial complex. We will also try to de ine the military-industrial complex,
by discussing its history, its role during World War 1 & 2, Cold War. We will
also try to understand the impact of globalisation on the military-industrial
complex and the ethical issues that arise from it.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Meaning of Globalisation
Globalisation is a phenomenon which involves a political, technological,
cultural and economic merging of counties and groups residing within those
counties to create a global order. It does not mean that the national
boundaries are disappearing. We have more nation-states today than ever
before. (Boyer, R. and Drache, D. 2005)
The commonality in public and private inances, organisations, bilateral
and multilateral trade policy, rights of citizens along with wealth creation
leads to a more globalised world. Due to this restructuring of global order to
improve e iciency and maximise revenues. Domestic institutions have lost
their importance over the years and a country’s economy and society are
heavily in luenced by global culture and institutions like the IMF, World Bank,

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 World Trade Organisation (WTO), United Nations and its other subsidiaries to
name a few. (Boyer, R. and Drache, D. 2005)

2.2 Perspectives of Globalisation

The global perspective of globalisation can be grouped into three waves.
a. Globalist: The globalist perspective emphasises sweeping away of
borders through the integration of global economies, cultures and
politics. The domestic culture, states and economy will be of less
signi icance over a period of time. The top companies of the world like
Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft etc have bene ited a lot from applying the
globalist or hyper-globalist perspective in their decision-making process.
Their operations are not restricted to a country (Martell, L. 2016)
b. Sceptical: The sceptical perspective challenges the key ideas of
globalisation. It believes that globalisation’s impact is far from what is
portrayed. Some regions in Africa and Asia have not bene ited from global
competition as foreign companies have taken over their domestic markets
with superior products and inances. From a cultural perspective, hyper-
globalisation is not bene icial in the long run. Companies need to make
some changes to their products and services in a foreign country
following the local culture. For example in India, beef is not consumed by
the majority of the people. McDonald had to bring a vegetarian and
chicken-based menu to entice the local population. The sceptical
perspective emphasises the importance of domestic institutions and

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 nation-states which is in sharp contrast to the globalist perspective.
(Martell, L. 2016)
c. Transformationalists: The Transformationalist perspective
understands the importance of having a globalist endeavour along with
respecting the sovereignty of counties and their inancial, cultural and
political systems. It calls for moderation and sees the bene its and
disadvantages of the irst & second wave of ideas/perspectives of
globalisation. (Martell, L. 2016)

2.3 History of the Military-Industrial Complex

The concept of the Military-Industrial Complex was conceptualised in the
United States after World War 2, but its roots can be traced further back. As
mentioned in the introduction term Military-Industrial Complex was irst used
by former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell speech in 1961,
where he warned the public of the potential in luence and power of the
military-industrial complex. (Dunne and Sköns, 2011)

During the World War 1 era, the military-industrial complex started taking
shape. The government became heavily dependent on industrial sectors for
weapons, ammunition and other military products. The war e ort saw close
collaboration between military authorities, government and industries. It led
to rapid innovation not just in weapons and ammunition but in other
complementary products and services as well. Products like the zipper,
trenchcoats, stainless steel, and wristwatches were all invented during World
War 1 which are not directly associated with weapons and ammunitions.

The biggest turning point in the development of the MIC was marked by
the commencement of the global con lict of World War 2. The war e ort gave
rise to massive defence production facilities, research institutes and close

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closer coordination between the military and industries. (Dunne and Sköns,
2011) These collaborations set the stage for subsequent growth and
expansion of the military-industrial complex.

2.4 Globalisation’s Impact on Military-Industrial Complex:

2.5 Expansion of defence markets and international arms trade:

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 2.6 Ethical Challenges with the Military-Industrial Complex

2.7 Frameworks on ethical issues in the Military-Industrial Complex:

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 REFERENCES:
1. Cassimon, D., Engelen, PJ., Van Cappellen, H. (2018). Globalization.
In: Marciano, A., Ramello, G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Law and Economics.
Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_194-1
2. Boyer, R. and Drache, D. (2005) States Against Markets. 1st ed. Taylor
and Francis. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1605756/states-
against-markets-the-limits-of-globalization-pdf (Accessed: 4 July 2023).
3. Ohmae, K. 1993. ‘The rise of the Regional State.’ Foreign A airs 72:2
(Spring).
4. Martell, L. (2016) The Sociology of Globalization. 2nd ed. Polity
Press. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1536101/the-sociology-
of-globalization-pdf (Accessed: 5 July 2023).
5.
6. Dunne, John & Sköns, Elisabeth. (2011). The Military Industrial
Complex. University of the West of England, Department of Economics,
Discussion Papers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
46450061_The_Military_Industrial_Complex
7. Pieter D. Wezeman, Justine Gadon, Siemon T. Wezeman (2023)
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Trends in
International Arms Transfer https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/ iles/
2023-03/2303_at_fact_sheet_2022_v2.pdf

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 8. Jacques S. Gansler, William Lucyshyn, and John Rigilano (2014) The
Impact of Globalization of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base, Center for
Public Policy & Private Enterprise https://dair.nps.edu/handle/
123456789/2597
9.

10.Saldner, Simon. “Stopping Destructive Arms Proliferation: How the

Arms Trade Treaty Can Improve Peace and Security by Introducing the
First International Regulations on Transfers of Conventional Arms.” Malmö
högskola/Kultur och samhälle, 2013.
11.
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