Optimal defence structure for a small country

Arthur Grimes and James Rolfe

Defence and Peace Economics, 2002, vol. 13, issue 4, 271-286

Abstract: Small countries may not be able to afford all force elements (army, navy, air-force) operated by larger countries and certainly cannot afford all sub-elements (aircraft carriers, submarines, etc). This paper provides a framework for a small country to analyse its force structure, examining the influence of objectives, international co-operation, funding and technological constraints, and uncertainty. We analyse when a small country may choose to retain a balanced structure (with each force element) and when it may choose to drop one or more elements. The issues are illustrated with the decision by the New Zealand government over whether to retain a strike aircraft capacity.

Keywords: Defence Expenditure; Defence Force Structure; Balanced Forces; New Zealand Defence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1080/10242690212353

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