Means of Destruction: Globalisation and the Arms Industry at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Despite some optimistic predictions, the arguments that we are about to witness an end to war are becoming increasingly unconvincing. Localised wars continues to range in many regions worldwide, and the arms industry, in response, is undergoing global reconstruction. In this book, John Lovering examines the changing nature of the arms industry and the evolving political agendas and economic policies of nation states in response to an ever increasing demand for arms. Professor Lovering argues that the global reconstruction of the arms business reflects significant and fundamental changes in the organization of industry and the changing sovereignty and policy agendas of the nation states, and that these are bound up with the notion of globalization . Privatization, marketization and Americanization are the political and economic dimensions of globalization and provide the context for he reconstruction of the contemporary arms industry. Such an unholy alliance has disastrous implications for world peace and presents new dilemmas for, and renewed intervention from, the peace movement.