| Summary: | This dissertation examInes whether the arms industry is globalising. Although it is a broadly accepted view that the arms industry is glob ali sing, it is not always clear what this involves and there is little empirical evidence available to support this view. More importantly, the view that the arms industry is glob ali sing is often based on a meaning of globalisation that is not distinctively different from the meaning of internationalisation. This study is based on the view that the question whether the arms industry is globalising is meaningful only if the concept' globalisation' has a distinctly different meaning from the concept 'internationalisation'. Based on an extensive review of the globalisation literature, and especially of the literature on economic globalisation, three main features of globalisation are identified: (i) increased pace and global scope of economic cross-border activities (i.e. increased internationalisation); (ii) transformation of multinational companies into truly transnational companies; and (iii) a reduced government capacity to regulate and control cross-border activities. If these features are true for the arms industry, then globalisation of the arms industry would involve a radical change from during the cold war, when there was little internationalisation of the arms industry apart from government-to-government international armaments collaboration; when arms-producing companies were not transnational; and when governments were able to exercise control over their respective arms industries. This study examInes the intensity and global scope of international transfers of major weapons and the intensity and scope of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the Euro-Atlantic arms industry and analyses the impact of these trends on government control over the arms industry. It also discusses the extent of transnational companies in the arms industry and other trends in the arms industry that may be considered evidence of globalisation. The main focus of the study is on cross-border M&As in the Euro-Atlantic arms industry. The reason for this is that this trend, which has enlerged during the postcold war period, is one of the factors most often referred to as evidence of arms industry globalisation. However, so far there has been no systematic mapping of this trend, primarily due to the lack of comprehensive data. This study is based on a new data set on cross-border M&As. It covers the Euro-Atlantic area, since this is the area where most of the global arms industry is located. This is true in particular for the most advanced private arms industry, which is the most likely to be affected by the economic forces underlying globalisation.
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