Arms Deals

How do states decide where to source arms? Drawing on theories of international relations, we consider the recent fighter aircraft competitions in Brazil and India, and analyze why the U.S.-made aircraft lost to their European rivals. Official statements offered by the Brazilian and Indian governments have cited inferior aircraft performance, technology-sharing issues, and prices. These explanations may be valid, but their main purpose is to direct attention away from the fact that military procurement is, above all, a matter of international politics and policy. Using analytical eclecticism as our guide, we selectively combine constructivist, liberal, and realist theoretical elements to provide a more comprehensive explanation of why Lockheed Martin and Boeing failed to sell fighters to Brazil and India. Related Articles Catalinac, Amy L. 2007. “Theory and Foreign Policy: Explaining Japan's Responses to the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 U.S. War in Iraq.” Politics & Policy 35 (1): 58–100. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00049.x/abstract Quinn, Adam. 2007. “The Great Illusion: Chimeras of Isolationism and Realism in Post-Iraq U.S. Foreign Policy.” Politics & Policy 35 (3): 522–547. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2007.00071.x/abstract Rosen, Amanda M. 2015. “The Wrong Solution at the Right Time: The Failure of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change.” Politics & Policy 43 (1): 30–58. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12105/abstract Related Media So, Vishnu. 2012. “The Story of the Rafale.” NDTV. December 8. Duration: 16 min, 42 sec. http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/bigger-higher-faster/the-story-of-the-rafale/257581 Brazil. 2015. “F-X2 e Gripen NG (Tudo Sobre pt. 1).” Noticias Militares. January 10. Duration: 3 min, 38 sec (in Brazilian Portuguese). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P12stwG1jA Como es que los estados deciden donde proveer armas? Teniendo en vista las teorias de relaciones internacionales, consideramos que los concursos recientes de aviones de guerra en Brasil y la India y analizamos por que los aviones hechos en los EEUU perdieron ante sus rivales europeos. Las posiciones oficiales ofrecidas por los gobiernos brazileno e indio han citado desempeno inferior de las aeronaves y asuntos de compartimiento de tecnologia asi como precios. Estas explicaciones pueden ser validas, pero su principal proposito es desviar la atencion del hecho que la procuracion militar es, sobre todo, un asunto de politica y politicas internacionales. Utilizando como guia al eclecticismo analitico, combinamos de manera selectiva elementos teoricos constructivistas liberales y realistas para proveer una explicacion mas comprensiva de por que Lockheed Martin y Boeing fracasaron en su intento de vender aeronaves de guerra a Brasil e India.

The historical significance of the Czechoslovak-Egyptian arms deal signed on 12th September 1955 cannot be overestimated, as its political consequences and effects on international relations point far beyond its commercial and military importance.Hungary also profited from the arms deal in an intermediate way, as the Hungarian
diplomacy adequately sensed the turn in the wind and strove to utilise it as far as possible. Although decisionmakers in Budapest knew that in arms manufacturing they were no competition to military industry giants such as Czechoslovakia and Poland, and they were not in the position to provide loans on a par with Soviet ones either, the country had significant potential in other fields (transport vehicles, chemicals, and experts).