Common Dreams
Jessica Corbett
04/27/2020
A new analysis on Monday showing that the world's military spending surpassed $1.9 trillion last year, once again led by the United States under President Donald Trump, provoked demands that governments across the globe prioritize peace and the health of people as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the planet.
The latest annual report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that the top military spenders after the U.S. were China, India, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. Total spending in 2019 was 3.6% higher than in the previous year and accounted for 2.2% of global gross domestic product (GDP).
The new analysis followed a National Priorities Project report from last week that warned against a global pandemic response which aims to return to an old normal "defined by unfettered capitalism that thrives on the devastation of our planet, the devaluation of human life, and the use of military force to perpetuate both."
"Global military expenditure was 7.2% higher in 2019 than it was in 2010, showing a trend that military spending growth has accelerated in recent years," SIPRI researcher Nan Tian said in a statement. "This is the highest level of spending since the 2008 global financial crisis and probably represents a peak in expenditure."
The report was released Monday as the global number of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed toward three million and the pandemic's death toll stood at over 207,000. Highlighting the new SIPRI data in the midst of the outbreak Monday, the U.K.-based Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) declared on Twitter that "out of this crisis we must build a world where real human needs are prioritized."
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The SIPRI findings, as the statement from Jennings' group noted, were published during IPB's Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), which run from April 10 to May 9 and "highlight the need to reallocate military expenditure to confront COVID-19 and the urgent social and environmental crises."
The new analysis followed a National Priorities Project report from last week that warned against a global pandemic response which aims to return to an old normal "defined by unfettered capitalism that thrives on the devastation of our planet, the devaluation of human life, and the use of military force to perpetuate both."
