Defense and Eastern Europe: A Comment
Abstract
The papers in this section examine East European economic inputs into defense (Deutch), trends in defense budgets (Alton), military outputs (Bielli), and intraregional patterns of military inputs and outputs (Nelson). They all chart (with exception of some of Alton's indices), declines in Eastern Europe's contributions to the Warsaw Pact: arms industries are not being modernized, budgets are declining in real terms, procurement of new weapons systems has been slow, and East European military commitments continue to be far less than those of the Soviets, even accounting for differences in status and size. This comment examines the decline of Eastern Europe's military commitment to the Warsaw Pact in the context of these papers. It first discusses how we know what we know, i. e., the sources of information on the economic side of East European military efforts. It then compares several indicators and what they imply about trends in military spending and force modernization. The paper proceeds to assess constraints on military modernization imposed by demographic, social, and economic trends in Eastern Europe and to suggest why East European governments have not tried to increase or sustain past levels of effort. The comment concludes with a discussion of the policies Western countries could adopt to influence East European government decisions on allocations to the military.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA228420
Entities
People
- Keith Crane
Organizations
- RAND Corporation