Transfers of Major Conventional Weapons

In: SIPRI yearbook: armaments, disarmament and international security, S. 323-409

Abstract

Global arms transfers fell by 26% from 1999 to 2000, with the US accounting for almost 50% of the total. The process of a concentration of a few major arms suppliers & recipients continued. Among the largest suppliers, only Russia showed a substantial increase in arms transfers in 2000. The international arms market has become more commercial, competitive, & complicated. Suppliers have become both competitors & partners on the international arms market as recipients have learned how to use the market skillfully to receive "more for less." Economic, military-political, & technology factors in the arms supplier countries, combined with factors such as real or perceived military threats or countries that are in a phase of modernization, are more important determinants of arms transfers than national or international restrictive arms export policies. This raises questions as to the relationship between increasing national transparency in arms transfers & the democratic control of transfers. 12 Tables, 1 Figure. Adapted from the source document.