Les Etats-Unis et les 12. La réduction des dépenses militaires. Attitudes européennes et américaines

When the Soviet Union asked UN member states to reduce their military expenditure by 10% in order to help the least developed countries 12 countries wanted to improve statistical knowledge of military expenditure, particularly that of the information-poor countries, including those of the Soviet Union. However, the figures provided by the USSR concerning their military spending were largely underestimated according to American analysts. They considered that the USSR's proposal presupposed that a joint work, under the aegis of the UN, be organised to compare in time and space the military content and expenditure of countries. The political obstacles came from countries with planned economies, for which the methods of accounting for military budgets, as well as their content, had to remain secret. The Soviet proposal was therefore blocked for political rather than statistical reasons. Mots clés : Dépenses militaires, comparaison des dépenses militaires Fonds de désarmement pour le développement Military expenditures, military expenditures comparisons, International Disarmament Fund for Development.