An insecure world launches into rearmament with a 9% military spending boom in 2023. The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and tensions with China and North Korea predict that the arms race will deepen.

Since 2014, when the Kremlin annexed Crimea, Europe began to reverse what the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, defined as a time of “silent disarmament” The increase in defense spending has accelerated after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2014, European NATO allies spent $235 billion, 1.47% of GDP. In 2023, the figure rose to 347,000 (both calculated at constant 2015 prices), equivalent to 1.85%.