ABSTRACT
Third World militarization is apparent in both a faster rise of expenditures as well as a greater increase in the size of armed forces than in the developed countries. This chapter explores the degree to which mass living standards and political freedom have been directly affected by the level of military burdens and the rate of militarization which various Third World countries have experienced between the early 1960s and the late 1970s. The breakdown of detente since 1978 has catalysed an intensification of the East-West arms race. This is not only reactive to relative superpower parity and rivalry in the developing areas, but it constitutes a direct impetus for arms exports and militarization within the Third World. As military expenditures in a nation increase, the benefits of alternative preferences in social welfare areas must suffer. There is a preference for capital-intensive investment, thus hindering labor-intensive investments which would be essential for the maximum reduction of unemployment and underemployment.
