Vol 3, No 1 - Symposium: The UK Military Industrial Complex

January 2008

This issue contains a symposium on the British 'Military Industrial Complex'(MIC), together with two stand-alone papers on Middle East cooperation, by Bar-El and Malul and small arms proliferation in Asia by Markowski et al. The British MIC symposium brings together economists and non-economists to consider a range of issues in arms production and governance, raising some interesting issues that deserve further research by economists. Edgerton, argues for a political economy understanding of the important role military industry has played in the UK, while Hartley considers the present relationship between the UK and European defence industrial bases and likely future conflicts. Gilby provides evidence of past corruption in British arms deals, using documents recently made available through the Freedom of Information Act, while Stavrianakis details the problems with the present system of the arms export licences. UK dependence on the US for nuclear weapons is then forcefully shown by Plesch , while Langley analyses the continuing militarisation of the UKs Universities. Feldman provides a case study of one aspect of BAE Systems' past attempts at conversion to argue that such initiative failed for internal political reasons rather than technical ones. Finally, Braddon considers the changing ownership patterns of British arms producers and their implications for governance. Overall, the papers give a wide ranging analysis of the British MIC and make clear the importance of continued research on a sector that is undergoing considerable change with important implications for future economic, political, and military security.

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