Inside Story

What’s driving up global military spending?

Military expenditure around the world has hit a new record. 

Global military spending has soared to an all-time high.

It reached a whopping $2.2 trillion last year. That’s according to data just published by the think-tank the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It’s the biggest year-on-year increase since the end of the Cold War.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to an immediate surge in spending in Europe and elsewhere.

Can this trend be reversed?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests: 

Elisabeth Braw – Senior fellow focused on foreign and defence policy at the American Enterprise Institute

Major General S B Asthana – Former director-general of infantry in Indian Army; director of the United Service Institution of India, a national security and defence services think-tank

Domitilla Sagramoso – Senior lecturer in security and development at King’s College London