New technology and the U.S. military industrial complex

John Dunne and Elisabeth Skons ()
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Elisabeth Skons: the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Stockholm, Sweden

Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 2021, vol. 16, issue 2, 5-17

Abstract: This article considers what could be a fundamental development in the defense industrial base (DIB) in the U.S., namely the increased involvement of commercial technology companies in military-related business. After an outline of the dynamics and longer-term post-Cold War developments in the international arms industry, it investigates recent changes in the Pentagon's attitudes and policies to gain access to new technologies from the commercial and academic sectors. It also considers the military, technological and political drivers that have led to these technologies being sought from commercial companies for military use. It then considers the recent engagement of the major commercial technology companies in activities for the military sector and what is driving them to take up military contracts. Finally, it considers what these developments imply for the dynamics of the arms industry and the relationships within the DIB and the military industrial complex (MIC).

Keywords: New technology; defence; security; software; IT; DIB; MIC; cloud (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 D74 H56 H57 O14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epc:journl:v:16:y:2021:i:2:p:5-17

DOI: 10.15355/epsj.16.2.5

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