الإنفاق العسكري الإفريقي: الدفاع مقابل التنمية

Abstract EN

The countries of the African continent still lack the means to balance between achieving high levels of security and stability on the one hand and achieving development on the other hand, in light of the multiplicity of challenges and risks facing the countries of the continent, whether emanating from within them, or resulting from their presence in a turbulent regional environment.

Hence, African approaches to the equation of achieving a balance between security and development were divided among countries that adopted the security approach by enhancing their military spending in order to face security challenges.

Proceeding from its vision that achieving positive rates of security and stability is the first step in achieving development, and other countries have adopted the development approach in terms of facing security challenges through the developmental approach, and reducing the military burden on the state budget.

During the three years (2018, 2019 and 2020), the rate of military spending in sub-Saharan Africa ranged between rise and decline, but it recorded in 2020 an increase that is the first since 2014, which can be attributed to a package of security and military challenges facing the countries of the continent, especially countries in the African Sahel, most notably the high incidence of conflicts and the growing phenomenon of terrorism, but on the other hand, some sub-Saharan countries tended to reduce their military spending during the year 2020, which can be explained as a result of economic and health considerations.

In this regard, there are specific future paths for African military spending trends, related to the extent to which African governments interact with the challenges they face, whether security or non-security, represented either by a number of countries in the continent towards increasing their military spending, or the trend towards reducing their military spending, or their preference to preserve on the status quo.