Abolition of War and Armed Conflict: Volume III; Armaments, Equipment and Military Financing, Deciphering a Global Industry in the Service of War

This third volume in the Abolition of War and Armed Conflict series offers an in-depth exploration of one of the most powerful and opaque drivers of modern warfare: military weapons, equipment, and financing. Through a documented, critical, and comparative analysis, it sheds light on the scale of the arms race in the twenty-first century and on the industrial, technological, and financial dynamics that sustain it. The book opens with an examination of the defense industries, the true pillars of the global economy. Far beyond the simple production of arms, these industries structure vast subcontracting networks, benefit from massive funding and state support, and directly shape the strategic orientations of the world’s great powers. The ten leading arms-producing countries, identified notably by SIPRI, dominate exports and impose a global market where economic logic intertwines with geopolitical calculations. A second section focuses on the typology of armaments and their technological evolution. Whether on land, at sea, in the air, space, cyberspace, or the nuclear domain, every sector is undergoing profound transformation. Recent conflicts have revealed the decisive impact of drones, electronic warfare, hypersonic weapons, and integrated multi-domain combat systems. Armaments today are not only destructive tools but also instruments of control, domination, and deterrence, deeply embedded in contemporary military doctrines. The third dimension is the financing of military power. The United States maintains by far the largest defense budget, while China and Russia are rapidly increasing theirs to consolidate their global status. The European Union, the BRICS, and regional actors also contribute to this escalation. These budgets are analyzed not only in terms of scale, but also by strategic priorities, nuclear programs, cyber capabilities, space militarization, and disruptive technologies. Here, the book exposes a stark paradox: while humanity urgently needs resources for health, education, climate action, and social justice, states commit astronomical sums to preparing for increasingly technological wars. Another key chapter investigates arms exports as instruments of geopolitical influence. Far from being simple commercial exchanges, they operate as tools of coercive diplomacy and strategic dependence. Access to certain weapons strengthens alliances but also intensifies tensions in fragile regions such as the Middle East, Africa, or South Asia. The spread of advanced weapons in unstable contexts fuels insecurity and undermines the possibility of sustainable peace. Finally, the book turns to the future: can the military–industrial complex be redirected toward civilian purposes? Once considered utopian, this question has become urgent. The conversion of an industry designed for destruction into one serving human development, renewable energy, infrastructure, healthcare, sustainable technologies, is not only possible but also ethically and politically necessary. Drawing on historical precedents and today’s immense global needs, this reflection highlights both the obstacles and the transformative potential of such a shift. At the intersection of strategic, economic, and humanist analysis, this volume demonstrates that war is not inevitable. It is sustained by deliberate material, technological, and financial structures. By unveiling the mechanisms of armaments and their financing, the book reveals the foundations of organized violence between states. More than a diagnosis, this third volume is an invitation to reflection and action. By exposing the industrial and economic logic that fuels conflict, it opens a path toward a concrete alternative: transforming resources devoted to war into engines of peace, human dignity, and global cooperation.