Defence Budget Transparency on the Internet

Keywords:

Abstract:

Fundamental to the security and stability of a region is communication and the sharing of information between neighbouring countries. This notion is especially true in the case of military budget transparency, where if states were to come to a common agreement on the sharing of defence expenditure information, confidence between neighbouring states would increase and the chances of military tensions would be reduced. This paper is a comparative study of what defence expenditure figures are available on the Internet for countries of the South European region as well as selected NATO and non-NATO member countries. In looking at how the topic at hand relates to issues of democracy, the study assesses what type of Internet-based information is available at the moment and how this information could be used to enhance regional military cooperation and understanding in South Eastern Europe. Although the Internet provides a constructive and clear framework for the purposes of the study, it also poses certain limitations. Taking into consideration these limitations, the article provides a firm basis for what more can be accomplished in the area of defence budget transparency with respect to the Internet.