MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX IN THE MODERN WORLD ECONOMY: PRECONDITIONS, FACTORS, DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

Abstract

The study of the development of the military-industrial complex in the modern world economy is acutely relevant given the escalation of international conflicts between major leading countries, international groups, individual countries due to the conflict of their economic interests, ideological beliefs, political orientations. The military-industrial complex is a guarantee of the country's defense capabilities, so it needs in-depth state support. At the same time, it is an important branch of the economic complex, which in developed countries is based on liberal-market principles, with the predominant participation of private capital, and it is a very profitable business. Therefore, the development of the military-industrial complex must adhere to certain limits, beyond which there is a risk of increasing the threat to peace both in individual regions and in the world community. The article highlights the preconditions of the creation and development of the military-industrial complex, among which the main factors of production – the area, population and population density, natural resource potential; and developed factors of production – production potential, infrastructure, scientific, technical potential, innovation and investment-oriented potential. Based on a comparative analysis of country rankings by key economic indicators, competitiveness indexes (WEF and IMD) and military strength index, the authors show that the largest military-industrial complex belongs to the representatives of all three types of countries. It is shown that the growth rate of the military-industrial complex has become higher than the growth rate of GDP in the world, the United States and Russia. It is proved that military power is determined not only by the level of economic development, but also by the priorities of state policy, which is demonstrated by the volume and share of expenditures on military-industrial complex development in GDP, imports and arms exports. It is argued that important factors in increasing the global military-industrial complex are: very lucrative international arms trade and the use of new technologies in arms production, based on the achievements of the fourth industrial revolution in the world. The authors emphasize that due to the contradictions between leading nations and the business interests of the large arms – producing companies and the risks of extreme militarization and the threat of large-scale military action, which could affect the world today, in which almost all countries have reached different but high levels of economic globalization, are rising. The tools that indirectly contribute to the growth of military-industrial complex costs, the production and trade of increasingly advanced means of destruction are information technologies, which serve as a means of marketing, and information networks serve as platforms for advertising and arms sales. All of the mentioned creates a dangerous situation in the modern world economy and requires increased responsibility for security issues based on control and restrictions by international institutions, including the UN General Assembly, which is fully responsible for world peace and security.