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An arms race in Southeast Asia? Changing arms dynamics, regional security and the role of European arms export
Ein Wettrüsten in Südostasien? Veränderte Rüstungsdynamiken, regionale Sicherheit und die Rolle europäischer Waffenexporte
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit
Abstract Southeast Asia is arming massively. In the past decade, military spending by the region’s states has risen by 57 percent on average. China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the Pacific is frequently cited as the trigger for this leap in arms purchases. However, as this study will show, domestic... view more
Southeast Asia is arming massively. In the past decade, military spending by the region’s states has risen by 57 percent on average. China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour in the Pacific is frequently cited as the trigger for this leap in arms purchases. However, as this study will show, domestic and foreign-policy factors other than the ‘China factor’ have also been decisive for the increase: lasting territorial conflicts, domestic militant revolutionary movements and the powerful political influence of the military. Even if no direct link can be shown to exist between an arms race and an increasing likelihood of violent conflict breaking out, this does not mean that Southeast Asia is gaining in stability through the current arms build-up. On the contrary, the quantitative and qualitative expansion of military capacities has increased both threat perceptions and distrust in the region. In this context, Germany and many of its European neighbours would be well-advised to rethink their role as central arms suppliers to Southeast Asia more strategically and critically. Germany and the EU currently view the arms trade with Southeast Asian customers primarily from an economic perspective. What is needed, however, is a political and strategic discourse on the impact of their arms exports. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
export; arms race; international comparison; political stability; Federal Republic of Germany; weapon; military policy; international security; defense policy; Southeast Asia; armaments; security policy
Classification
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Document language
English
Publication Year
2017
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
31 p.
Series
SWP Research Paper, 10/2017
ISSN
1863-1053
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications