Uluslararası siyaset ve küresel silah ticaretinde dalgalanma (1950-2019)

The volume of international arms trade fluctuates in time due to various reasons. The legal international arms trade remarkably increased in the last two decades of the Cold War. After a considerable decline in the 1990s, the volume of the global arms trade has incrementally risen particularly since 2003. Hereby, this thesis explores the causes of the upward trend in the international arms trade. First, it paints the picture of the historical development of the international arms trade with all its economic, political, and military dimensions. Second, it investigates the dynamics of the recent increase in international arms transfers. This is taken up within the framework of a systemic analysis of the international arms trade. Hence, the correlation between the international arms transfers and the international order is shown. It is put forward that the increase in the international arms trade from 2003 onwards reflects the rising intra-systemic competition within the global capitalism. Given the fact that international arms control mechanisms, which are examined in the thesis, are far from being effective instruments to prevent the arms competition it may be contemplated that its pace may sustain in short and medium terms. It appears that despite the decline of the US hegemony in general, it is not yet possible to discern a replacement of the US hegemony with China or Russia regarding the international arms trade.