International Politics on the World Stage 8th Ed.

What Would You Spend for Your Security?

You are the defense minister for a state in the contemporary international system and your "boss" (the President or Prime Minister depending on your government) has told you that you are allowed to spend $100 billion dollars for defense for next year. Assuming that you feel that most of your forces are currently in relatively good shape and that no one area of your defense establishment is particularly weak, you should try to come up with a budget request that is balanced. In other words, all things being equal what do you think are the most important pieces of defense hardware that you should purchase to pursue military security in the contemporary international system? You may want to consider which of the following military uses is most necessary in today's international military environment:

1) Air capability;
2) Ground capability;
3) Naval capability;
4) Nuclear capability;
5) A combination of capabilities.

There are also a number of questions below for you to answer that may also help you think more broadly about the issues raised in this exercise.

Select the item you are interested in purchasing from the list on the left below. You will be shown the price and description of the item. If you would like to purchase the item click the "Add to order" button. The item will appear on your list on the right, and the price will be deducted from your budget. Continue in this fashion until you have used up all of your budget. If you wish to start over click the "Clear order" button to remove ALL items from your list.

Your Professor may wish to have a copy of your list. Enter the information in the fields below, and click submit to send him/her a copy.

Your name:
Your e-mail address:
Your instructor's e-mail address:

After submitting your list, you may wish to return to this page to complete the survey below.

1. Do you think it is important to continue to spend large sums of the defense budget on research and development on new weapons systems in the post-Cold War era?: Yes; No; Don't Know

2. Do you think it is important to spend large sums of the defense budget on strategic capability when conflicts appear to becoming more regional, ethnic, or from non-state sources such as is the case with terrorism?: Yes; No; Don't Know

3. How much do you think your state spends on foreign aid?: Approximately one-tenth of one percent of GNP; Approximately ten percent of GNP; Approximately fifty percent of GNP; Don't Know

4. The amount your state spends on foreign aid should: decrease; stay the same; increase; Don't Know

5. Do you think some of the money spent on defense expenditures should be diverted to foreign aid and aimed at dealing with humanitarian needs around the world?: Yes; No; Don't Know

6. Do you think that defense expenditures should decrease in order to provide college education and technical training to all citizens of your country?: Yes; No; Don't Know

7. Do you think that defense expenditures should decrease in order to provide health care (or improved health care) to all citizens of your country?: Yes; No; Don't Know

8. Do you think that defense expenditures should decrease in order to provide other domestic needs in your country?: Yes; No; Don't Know

9. Are defense industries or military bases situated in the state or province in which you reside?: Yes; No; Don't Know

10. Would you be willing to support defense cuts which would affect nearby defense industries or military bases?: Yes; No; Don't Know

Note:
You may want to print this out before you submit it to record your answers.