EVOLUTION OF DEFENSE BUDGET ALLOCATIONS IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. COMPARISON BETWEEN NATO COUNTRIES AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
EVOLUTION OF DEFENSE BUDGET ALLOCATIONS IN THE PAST 20 YEARS. COMPARISON BETWEEN NATO COUNTRIES AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION.

Summary/Abstract: Ever since the NATO Summit in Wales in 2014, specialized literature has focused on the desire of several member states to increase their defense budget to 2% or more. This has been a debated topic and while several countries inside the European Continent like Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands have failed to increase their portion of the GDP allocated to defense, other countries in the Eastern flank have managed to reach the target, including Romania, Poland and the Baltic States. Future increase of the budget is nowadays into discussion in order to meet the ever-increasing risk and threats that have emerged on the European Continent ever since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. While experts debate whether this approach is a correct one, few have analyzed the increase in the defense budget of the Russian Federation over the years. While NATO countries find it difficult to reboot their defense industry, for the Russian Federation this is a much easier process. Put into the context of diminished defense budget, this could be an explanation of the current gap in this regard. Analyzing in comparison, therefore, the way in which the defense budget has evolved in number in NATO and in the Russian Federation could provide a better view on what strategy NATO countries should follow in regard to their defense spending in order to meet the current needs and goals both from a strategic point of view but also from a practical one, that best suits the redevelopment of essential defense assets including the European defense industry.

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