Introduction

Defence economics maintains a relationship with the discipline of international relations as well as economics in areas such as government budget, public goods, trade and industry. The major shareholders and executives of companies that supply governments’ defence departments compose the military-industrial complex. The military-economic cycle is composed of a network that encompasses all aspects surrounding the military structure of a country, which include the security and defence policy of a state that determines the national defence strategy, and the military model. The military lobbies participate in defence economics through the military-economic cycle, which is the term that describes the economic conglomerates around defence economics. National security has been defined by Walt as the study of threats, use and control of military force, from a state-centric and militarist viewpoint, revitalized since the Global War on Terror. This chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.