ABSTRACT
Arms races between developing countries are not common and where they occur are usually the direct product of specific political tensions: arms restraint is important to them for social and economic reasons. Some countries, such as India, have felt themselves to be heirs to a strategic responsibility for the security of an area from which a major imperial power has withdrawn. Others such as Kenya and Somalia have found themselves involved in tension, itself largely a legacy of colonial rule. The evident natural vested interest of developing countries in disarmament and arms control must be seen in the context of the military superiority of the major powers. In short, the developing countries are concerned to limit the level of armed forces ultimately in their own economic interest. Their military needs are, however, at a very low level compared with the major powers who are, therefore, in no moral position to impose standards on others.
