ABSTRACT
Foreign military operations generally represent a small percentage of military spending. However, these operations are one of the most accepted and applauded facets of armies and are the topic of many news, images and speeches related to armed forces. This chapter will analyse the relationship between military spending and foreign military operations. First, it argues that, while the general military spending of some countries has increased since the beginning of this century – despite the economic crisis – the cost of foreign operations has increased to a much greater extent, even multiplied. These missions would have contributed not only with their economic volume, but also as a legitimizing factor of the whole military expenditure. Second, it argues that the bulk of the economic effort of these operations abroad is related to counter-terrorism frameworks and narratives. Three cases will be used: the USA, France and Spain, three NATO member countries with disparate budgetary and interventionist logics.
