Why we should invest a relative amount of money in Defense

“Why should we invest in Defense, we’ve been living in peace for over 50 years!” or “Why invest our precious money in Defense when we’re dealing with a recession!” are phrases I’ve heard over the last few years. When I received the assignment to write a statement following the question “How much money should a nation spend on defense?” I began to think. Do the first two phrases have a point? At first sight, certainly. Though by forming my thesis statement I began to see how both phrases missed some vital points.

Let me propose the following statement: The amount of money spend on defense, should be a shared investment between allies, and depend on threat level predictions made by a) several independent experts or b) a team of experts, and an independent third party.

Not investing in defense, see the first phrase in the introduction, is out of the question. ‘We’ve been living in peace for over 50 years’ overlooks the reason why we’re living in peace. After WW2, nations flocked together to form unions, e.g. OCSE, NATO, EU, UN etc. These unions exist to protect the safety of all participating countries. Multiple countries together are stronger than a country on its own. A country on its own will have to spend significantly more money than countries fighting together. However, still every participating country has to pay its contribution to the union. This means that the Netherlands will have to invest as well.

Sometimes spending money on defense seems like a waste of money. Dutch soldiers are deployed in countries most Dutch people have never been to e.g. Bosnia (SFOR), Afghanistan (ISAF),  Somalia (EUNAVFOR) or even Mali (MINUSMA). Though, there clearly is a reason for these deployments. The mission in Somalia for example protects international trade, which is a major source of income for the Netherlands. Establishing a new government in Afghanistan, will benefit our future wellbeing by proxy. The more stable and likeminded the world becomes, the better it will be for our future. As long as our world is divided and unstable, we’re not safe. 

Determining a national budget though is not an easy matter. I propose that there should be an international cooperation between experts who evaluate threat levels on an ongoing basis. These experts should be able to predict what is necessary to protect our nation and other nations involved. Together it should be decided how much should be spend on defense. To prevent corruption, decisions should be reviewed by an independent third party. Since our world is not safe and defense is vital, the annual budget should be independent of National income, and even during times of financial crisis, sufficient investments need to be made.