Military spending has risen considerably in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years and several states in the region are engaged in major arms acquisition programmes. Despite generally positive interstate relations, fears have been expressed about the impact of these developments on regional stability and poverty-reduction efforts. Allaying such fears requires high levels of transparency in military spending and arms acquisitions in order to build confidence among states and permit informed public debates on the appropriate allocation of national resources.

This original and thorough study surveys transparency in the region. It assesses information published at the national level on defence policy and the military budget and measures participation in regional and international transparency mechanisms. It suggests ways to improve the current levels of transparency in the military sector and will provoke debate and open the door to further research on the topic.

Read the press release here

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Transparency at the national level
3. Transparency at the international and regional level
4. Conclusions
Appendix A. Regional survey of transparency in military expenditure
Appendix B. Verifying the comprehensiveness of reports to UNROCA

About the authors

Mark Bromley (United Kingdom) is a Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms Transfers Programme, where his work focuses on South American arms acquisitions and European arms exports and export controls.

Carina Solmirano (Argentina) is a Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, where she is responsible for monitoring military expenditure in Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia.

Publisher: SIPRI
ISBN 978-91-85114-70-2
viii+49 pp.
January 2012
Price: €7.50 per copy plus €5 shipping and handling per order