The Societal Determinants and Impact of Military-Spending Patterns

Abstract

This study examines an important set of linked questions about the relationship between military spending and society. A little explored dynamic of this complex picture is a potential feedback relationship between societal instability and military spending. We explore related questions here: first, what is the impact of internal societal instability on military spending, and then what is the corresponding impact of military spending on society. Most traditional theories have considered military spending to be a function of either external threat or economic capacity. While these factors matter, scholars fail to investigate the important linkage between the issue of societal stability and cohesion on one hand, and rapid military buildups and defense burdens on the other. We examine the causes of rapid military buildups and defense burdens and then investigate the impact of accelerating military spending on domestic economic growth. Overall we show an important linkage between social stability and military spending. We are also able to demonstrate that large defense burdens are, in fact, harmful for growth suggesting there is more to the relationship between military spending and social stability than most scholars realize.