Budget Weather Reports
Since NATO allies committed to spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense, freshly released budget figures have been scrutinized and commented upon. Such daily budget weather reports are convenient to engage in “talking defense.” The 2 percent benchmark is snappy and plausible, and reminding governments to adhere it has the pleasant taste of arguing in favor of fair burden sharing.
Unfortunately, in reality, the size of defense budgets does not say much about future military power or the defense policy choices an individual country or NATO is facing. Debating defense through budgets implies that there is a direct …read more
Weather Reports, Defense Budgets, and Military Power
