The NATO Allies agreed at the September 2014 Wales Summit to spend at least two percent of their gross domestic products (GDPs) on defense by 2024. This commitment has become a point of contention among the Allies and a distraction from the imperative of improving the Alliance's burden sharing system. The GDP-based burden sharing policy has not proven to be effective or fair, and its implementation has been subject to national political and economic constraints. NATO as a whole has struggled to sufficiently fund the capabilities necessary for its mission effectiveness, even as individual Allies (above all, the United States) have spent enormous amounts on defense. At the same time, some Allies have made significant security contributions

The purpose of this book is to analyse world military expenditure at the end of the 1980s, and to discuss its political and economic implications. After a decade of unprecedented expansion of international military spending, its level is falling, though modestly. Political developments in Europe and the success of arms control negotiations raise hopes for further reductions. In addition, technological and economic structural disarmament is adding to the pressure for reductions. However, performance has not matched up to promises, and formidable obstacles to defence spending limitations still remain. Military Expenditure surveys recent events and describes the process of change that characterizes international military expenditure, and its determinants, at this time of transformation.

"A turbulent security environment in Europe and strong rhetoric from President Trump have brought renewed attention to NATO, its role in dealing with shared security challenges, and the future of the United States' relationship with its allies. Front and center are legitimate questions about commitments to defense burden sharing, as well as NATO's role in counterterrorism. This serves an opportunity to renew the transatlantic security relationship. As part of the Atlantic Council's project 'A New Deal for NATO,' NATO and Trump: The Case for a New Transatlantic Bargain provides pivotal insight and recommendations on how the United States and European allies can move forward to renew the transatlantic security and defense agenda, and make progress on these crucial areas, with the goal of bolstering our shared security"--Publisher's description.

In the coming decade, NATO faces growing fiscal austerity and declining defense budgets. This study analyzes the impact of planned defense budget cuts on the capabilities of seven European members of NATO: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland. The authors assess the implications of the cuts for NATO capabilities and strategy and for U.S. policy.

This study of European military prospects and economic constraints (EMPEC) was motivated by the long-standing concern of U.S. policymakers with moving toward a better balance with our European allies in providing military capabilities, as well as in the sharing of responsibilities, decisionmaking, and costs of our alliance relationship. This concern is largely shared by our NATO allies, who also nurture-with varying degrees of intensity-the additional aim of enhancing the autonomous military capabilities of the European Union (EU) apart from the NATO alliance, while at the same time moving toward a better balance within the alliance itself. The principal focus of the EMPEC project is the Union's European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) and the ESDP's instrument, the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF), with secondary attention to the Defense Capability Initiative (DCI) within NATO and the relationship be- tween the ESDP and the DCI. The DCI is a separate set of commitments by the members of NATO to upgrade their individual and collective capabilities and thereby enhance their capacity for bearing a larger share of the burden of and responsibility for NATO operations, together with U.S. forces. While these issues have many important political, diplomatic, and legal aspects, the narrower focus of this study is on defense economics. Specifically, this report addresses the prospects for economic growth, military spending, and military investments in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy to provide sufficient resources for enhancing the military capabilities sought by these four principal European NATO members for the ESDP/RRF in the EU, or for the DCI within NATO.

The Military Balanceis an authoritative assessment of the military capabilities and defence economics of 171 countries. Detailed A-Z entries list each country's military organisation, personnel numbers, equipment inventories, and relevant economic and demographic data. Regional and select country analyses cover the major developments affecting defence policy and procurement, and defence economics. The opening graphics section displays notable defence statistics, while additional data sets detail selected arms orders and military exercises, as well as comparative defence expenditure and personnel numbers. The Military Balanceis an indispensable handbook for anyone conducting serious analysis of security policy and military affairs. The International Institute for Strategic Studies, founded in 1958, is an independent centre for research, analysis and debate on the problems of conflict, however caused, that have, or potentially have, an important military dimension. Amid continuing conflict and broadening insecurity, The Military Balanceprovides essential facts and analysis for decision-makers and for better informed public debate. Because military affairs are inevitably clouded in fog, the IISS Military Balance is an essential companion for those who seek to understand. The Military Balanceis widely recognised as the best unclassified source of defense information on personnel, equipment and budgets for every country. important military dimension. Amid continuing conflict and broadening insecurity, The Military Balanceprovides essential facts and analysis for decision-makers and for better informed public debate. Because military affairs are inevitably clouded in fog, the IISS Military Balance is an essential companion for those who seek to understand. The Military Balanceis widely recognised as the best unclassified source of defense information on personnel, equipment and budgets for every country.

This volume contributes to empirical research on the role of national fiscal rules and institutions in shaping fiscal policies. It provides original, policy-oriented analysis on a number of questions and gives illuminating conclusions about the devices which promote sound and sustainable policy. Contributors are leading experts.

At the EU's Helsinki summit in 1999, European leaders took a decisive step toward the development of a new Common European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) aimed at giving the EU a stronger role in international affairs backed by a credible military force. This report analyzes the processes leading to the ESDP by examining why and how this new European consensus came about. It touches upon the controversies and challenges that still lie ahead. What are the national interests and driving forces behind it, and what steps need to be taken to realize Europe's ambitions to achieve a workable European crisis mgmt. capability?