Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

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  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
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Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. Sweden announced plans to raise defense spending by more than 25% to reach NATO's target of 2% of GDP, a level met by only 11 of the alliance's 31 members. Meeting such commitments requires a major reordering of budget and electoral priorities, as when Denmark funded higher spending by cancelling a public holiday.

John Paul Rathbone Financial Times
Date Posted:
Is Database:
Database

Western countries are facing tradeoffs to finance increased defense spending as the post-Cold War “peace dividend” fades in the face of Chinese and Russian revanchism, with 20 of 31 NATO members still below the 2% of GDP target.

Can governments meet defense spending targets without reordering budget priorities?

Core argument: Sweden, a NATO membership applicant, announced plans to raise defense spending by more than 25% to reach the alliance's target of 2% of GDP, a threshold currently met by only 11 of NATO's 31 members.

Sweden, which has applied for Nato membership, announced on Monday that it planned to raise defense spending by more than 25% to meet the military alliance’s target of 2% of GDP. Currently, only 11 of 31 members do. Persuading voters of the sacrifices required to make such commitments a reality represents a seismic reordering of the budget and electoral priorities. In Denmark, the government opted to fund its increase in public spending by cancelling a public holiday — to much chagrin from voters. "Leaders have signed up to a generational shift in defence policy. But I do wonder if they fully understand, or have told their finance ministers,” a senior Nato official said.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. Sweden, a NATO membership applicant, announced plans to raise defense spending by more than 25% to reach the alliance's target of 2% of GDP, a threshold currently met by only 11 of NATO's 31 members.
  2. Denmark's government funded its increase in public spending by cancelling a public holiday, a move that drew chagrin from voters.
  3. A senior NATO official said leaders have signed up to a generational shift in defense policy but questioned whether they fully understand it or have told their finance ministers.

Related Articles:

  • The Age-Old Question: How Do Governments Pay For Wars? — Denmark abolished a centuries-old religious holiday, requiring people to work that day, partly to help pay for extra defence spending, a move 70% of Danes opposed in one poll. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute calculates global defence spending rose 4% to a record $2.24tn and is set to keep rising even as higher interest rates raise governments' borrowing costs.
  • The Cost of the Global Arms Race — Global defence spending rose nearly 4% in real terms to over $2tn, and new commitments and forecast increases, if implemented, are estimated to add more than $200bn a year worldwide. If countries below 2% of GDP reached that level and others added half a percentage point, outlays would rise by close to $700bn annually.
  • Military Briefing: Ukraine War Exposes ‘Hard Reality’ of West’s Weapons Capacity — NATO members' defense ministries are finding that dormant weapons production lines cannot be restarted quickly, and that expanding capacity requires investment that depends on securing long-term production contracts. These countries had cut military spending, downsized defense industries, and shifted to lean "just-in-time" production with low inventories of munitions and other equipment.
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